CFA: A Collaborative Approach To Agriculture.
By Ron Bonnett, CFA President & Cow/Calf Operator
Over the years, and especially in the past few months, we have heard reports in the news and by those outside of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) membership that accuse the CFA of being a supply-managed organization. Others argue we place too much emphasis on trade, while some question if our focus is too central Canada, western grain or remote rural-centric.
To those accusations of who we are - I proudly answer an emphatic 'YES' - to all of the above. CFA is an organization that is supportive and proud of supply management and all orderly marketing tools, and the role they play in securing producer returns. CFA is an organization focused on exports - proud of the high quality products Canada sells internationally through its grains, oilseeds, sugar beets, horticulture and livestock members - at the CFA table directly or within each of our provincial general farm organizations. And yes, CFA is focused on the issues of central Canada, western Canada, eastern Canada and the remote areas in between.
CFA is Canada's largest national general farm organization. As such, we appreciate that not every issue will impact everyone at CFA directly or equally. But in 1935, the CFA was formed to provide a strong, collective voice for farmers - to work for the betterment of all farmers - to improve the socio-economic situation of all farmers. And some 78 years later, that objective has not changed. It is an objective that is obtained through a variety of initiatives - initiatives on a broad spectrum of files that have a direct impact to the bottom line of our members and every Canadian farmer. These include work not just on trade - which is key - but on other areas that impact farmers directly, like the owner use pesticide program, species at risk, business risk management tools, crop insurance, taxation issues, water use, climate change, regulatory reform, food safety and farm safety to name but a few.
Our objective is to ensure the sector as a whole is profitable and viable not just today but for the long-term, and that we at CFA strive to make that happen not on the backs or expense of others in the industry, but collectively and by working in partnership along the entire food supply chain. We do it by working with not only Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, but with Health Canada, Environment Canada, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Industry Canada - and our provincial members help to strengthen that approach by working in collaboration with their respective provincial ministries to bring a common vision and hopefully approach to agriculture in this country.
So, if working for the betterment of the entire agri-food sector is a fault - if understanding the complex inter-relationships between commodities, sectors and regions is wrong - then we are guilty and happily so - but at CFA, we will not be convinced that alone you can be stronger than working collaboratively together.