Farmers May Be Leary About Funding Through Agri-Stability

Most of the details surrounding Tuesday's funding announcement for the ag industry, centred around the Agri-stability program. 

 

Federal ag minister Marie-Claude Bibeau urged producers to sign up to the program in order to access money to help them through the current COVID pandemic. Rick Bergmann, Chair of the Canadian Portk Coucil says farmers have gone that route before, without much success.  "We've been relying on Agri-stability and for numerous years we have talked in many circles on how the agri-stability program doesn't work.  We're really relying on somewhat of a flawed program to provide sufficient funds but it doesn't, it supplies insufficient funds.  It really doesn't provide producers with the confidence that they require to weather the storm."

 

Bergmann notes that this program provide the backing that farmers need to feel reassured.  "When a producer is walking or driving from his home to his farm, it's only fair that they have the reassurance that they've got a good backing, just like they do for other insurance for their home or their farm.  We need to have some assurances and the agri-stability back in the day was set up to do that but again the program is no longer working for us (producers).

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.