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New national pork agency

New national pork agency

The Canadian Pork Promotion and Research Agency aims to increase collaboration throughout the industry 

By Jackie Clark
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Pork producers in Canada will reap the benefits of new national organization focused on enhancing pork production and marketing.

Federal agriculture and agri-food minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the creation of the Canadian Pork Promotion and Research Agency (PRA) in a Nov. 5 release. “The PRA will support the competitiveness and sustainability of the pork sector by enabling the development and implementation of promotional and research activities,” the release said.

The PRA will be funded by a national levy system, as well as levies on imported pork.

“Across Canada, producers pay a levy,” Gary Stordy, the director of government and corporate affairs at the Canadian Pork Council told Farms.com. Those levies differ by province.

“The intention is to collaboratively work with the provincial pork offices and this new agency to ensure that there’s both better information and to align efforts when possible,” he explained. “With that alignment and collaboration, we’re eventually going to be able to apply a levy on imported products and add to the ongoing efforts.”

For individual pig farmers across Canada, “there will be no new cost or added cost. In fact, they should see a benefit,” Stordy said. Their existing levy should be “used better or stretched further.”

Specifics on the structure and function of the new agency are still to be determined.

“It’s a work in progress, that’s for sure,” Stordy said. The agency will leverage existing expertise in pork research and promotion, “improving the collaboration and connectivity” of the industry.

“The potential of the agency is to tap into those resources and provide some extra tools, not necessarily just dollars,” he added. For example, there is an opportunity to connect pork industry researchers with experts on environmental sustainability.

Overall, the PRA will positively affect the entire industry, including providing “better information for producers and consumers, (and) making a dollar go further,” Stordy said. “Ultimately, the goal is a better atmosphere for the consumption of pork.”

Odairson Antonello\iStock\Getty Images Plus photo


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