Report: 'Water and Agriculture in Canada: Towards Sustainable Management of Water Resources'

Expert panel report on sustainable management of water in the agricultural landscapes of Canada

Ottawa (February 26th, 2013) – Canadian agriculture is faced with great opportunities, but also challenged by water-related risks and uncertainties. An expert panel convened by the Council of Canadian Academies has found that water and land resources in Canada can be more sustainably managed by developing forward-thinking policies and effective land and water management strategies, adopting effective governance mechanisms, and harnessing technological advancements.

The agricultural sector is an important contributor to Canada's prosperity and well-being. In 2011, primary agriculture alone produced $51.1 billion in gross farm receipts. It also plays a vital role in the food sector which is linked to nearly $100 billion per year in economic activity and approximately 1 in 7.5 Canadian jobs. As the world's population grows, so does the demand for food. Rising incomes are causing a shift in global patterns of food consumption towards higher-value forms of agricultural production. There is also increased demand for non-food agricultural products such as biofuels and natural fibres.

Dr. Howard Wheater, chair of the Council's expert panel noted, "Agriculture and water provide us with our most basic needs, and are intimately connected. While most farmers are their own water managers, using rain and snow for crop production, irrigation and livestock farming are major water consumers and face increasing competition from other water uses. Agriculture has changed much of our land area and can affect the water environment in many ways. It also faces major challenges due to the uncertain impact of climate variability, including floods and droughts, and climate change." He added, "Our expert panel explored these issues in great detail and our report lays out five practical areas where additional science and action can contribute to better sustainable management of water in agriculture."

Additional science is needed regarding:


the risks and uncertainties of market conditions, competition for land and water resources, and climate change


improved monitoring, modelling and forecasting to facilitate adaptive management


the interaction between land management and water resources – including assessment of beneficial management practices (BMPs), conservation agriculture, and ecosystem services approaches


promising farm-scale technologies that could contribute to efficient water use, reduced environmental impacts, and sound investment decisions


governance structures, valuation techniques, economic incentives, and knowledge transfer strategies that would help to facilitate better management decisions and uptake of sustainable practices



"Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada asked the Council to conduct this in-depth assessment and I am confident that the Panel's work has been comprehensive and the evidence provided within this report will be of significant value and insight for policy- and decision-makers, stakeholders and the wider research community," said Elizabeth Dowdeswell, President and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies.


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For more information, or to download a free copy of the report, please visit www.scienceadvice.ca after the embargo lifts.

About the Council of Canadian Academies

The Council of Canadian Academies is an independent, not-for-profit organization that began operation in 2005. The Council supports evidence-based, expert assessments to inform public policy development in Canada. Assessments are conducted by independent, multidisciplinary panels of experts from across Canada and abroad. The Council's blue-ribbon panels serve free of charge and many are Fellows of the Council's Member Academies: the Royal Society of Canada; the Canadian Academy of Engineering; and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. The Council's vision is to be Canada's trusted voice for science in the public interest. For more information visit www.scienceadvice.ca.

For more information please contact:

Cate Meechan
Director, Communications
Council of Canadian Academies
Cell: 613-302-6174

Agriculture Canada launches review of XL Foods beef recall

OTTAWA -- The federal government has launched a review of the E. coli outbreak last fall that sickened 18 people and led to the largest beef recall in Canadian history.

The review is to focus on what contributed to the outbreak of the potentially deadly bacteria at the XL Foods Inc. plant in Brooks, Alta.

It will also look at how well the Canadian Food Inspection Agency performed, including why tainted meat was distributed to retailers and sold to consumers.

Agriculture Canada said the review will be conducted by an independent panel of experts who are to hand in a report with recommendations to improve food safety.

"We take the safety of Canada's food supply very seriously and we remain committed to the continuous improvement of Canada's strong food safety systems," Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in a news release Friday evening.

At the time of the E. coli outbreak the XL Foods plant was the largest Canadian-owned beef slaughter facility in the country.

It is now owned and operated by JBS Food Canada, a subsidiary of JBS South America.

The federal government said the review panel includes recognized scientific, public health and meat industry experts.

They include Ronald Lewis, former chief veterinary officer for British Columbia; Dr. Andre Corriveau, chief public health officer for the Northwest Territories; and Ronald Usborne, a former executive with Caravelle Foods.

The review is to look at the design, implementation and oversight of food safety controls at the plant, including CFIA inspection policies, and how well testing information was shared by the company, inspectors and U.S. regulators.

The panel is to review the effectiveness of E. coli prevention protocols, including the ability to detect problems, recall beef products and how well the agency conducted followup investigations.

Federal documents have shown that CFIA inspectors issues six warnings to XL Foods about conditions in the plant between January 2012 and when the plant was temporarily shut down in September.

Some of the problems noted included improper sanitization of equipment, condensation dripping onto beef carcasses and containers overflowing with unsanitary water.

The agency said all of the problems cited were dealt with before the first cases of E. coli were found in beef produced at the plant.

The recall involved millions of tonnes of beef packaged in more than 2,000 different products across Canada and in many U.S. states.

The CFIA restored the plant's operating licence on Oct. 23 and it was allowed to resume exports of beef products to the United States in December.

Original article Here

Farmland: best-in-class asset

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (Agriculture.com)--Farmland has a large income return and is an undiscovered asset class, an industry expert told a group of investors Thursday.

Stephen Kenney, vice president of business development at Hancock Agricultural Investment Group, says farmland is a low-risk investment with a strong return.

“Putting farmland into fixed income is a unique play because normally it’s real estate or real assets that make up that income category.”

The leasing investment group owns over 275,000 acres. Most of the land owned is in the U.S, but the company does reach out to Canada and Australia using local profits and their own resources to manage land.

Kenney shares Hancock’s views on farmland investment being basically an unexplored area that has been talked about, but not a whole lot of action undertaken for investing in crops. 

“It’s an undiscovered asset class amongst investors,” Kenney says.

Hancock agriculture invests in more conservative areas, such as the U.S., Canada, and Australia because they are fluently English and have a consistent government. In countries like Brazil, there is uncertainty about whether the structure will exist in a few years. 

“We are not in Brazil, with reports showing income return levels of 4% to 5%. You can get that in Illinois. Plus, the political situation is unstable,” Kenney says.
When trying to diversify your investment portfolio, farmland is being proven as a positive asset class.
Kenney reminds investors that farmland is a long-term investment. "You really should consider 10 to 11 years of ownership. It's not a liquid asset class,” said Kenney. “Iowa, it’s a great investment. Anytime is a good time. Ten years from now, 20, or even 50 years,” said Kenney.
Kenney says investing in farmland provides total returns at low-risk levels. It also produces competitive income in low-interest-rate environments.
"Investors can see a 4% to 5% cash return on row-crops. That is a good return on investment vs. any return on a CD at a bank," Kenney says.
When considering a farmland investment portfolio, the best mix is to have a ratio that includes 70% row crops and 30% permanent crops. This is the optimal way to invest, but Kenney suggests that some people would say the best way to invest is 50/50.
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Written by Mike McGinnis and April Allen

Original article Here

Former PC agriculture minister remained a force despite marginalized role

At his political prime as Canada’s federal agriculture minister, John Wise was a political survivor, a farmers’ friend and in some ways a victim of east-west internal Tory tensions.


The southwestern Ontario dairy farmer and promoter of livestock genetic exports served as agriculture minister under Joe Clark (1979-80) and Brian Mulroney (1984-88), defending policies he often privately opposed and killing programs he often privately supported.


He fought for Ontario tobacco farmers in the face of strong resistance.


As an Ontario supply management supporter, he often found himself at odds with the strong western wing of the Progressive Conservative caucus, marginalized on many issues and under the thumb of more powerful ministers and a finance department that imposed policies and cuts on the agriculture department.


In opposition, he lost his agriculture critic’s role to westerner Charlie Mayer, only to re-emerge as agriculture minister when the Conservatives regained power.


When Wise retired before the 1988 free trade election (many suspected because he feared the impact of Canada-U.S. free trade on farmers, although he denied it), powerful Alberta minister Don Mazankowski predicted that he would be seen as one of the great agriculture ministers.


Mazankowski was named his replacement.


However, Wise’s parliamentary secretary offered a different insider perspective on his role as a good Tory soldier often outgunned in cabinet.


“This was just making official what has already been true,” Brandon Conservative MP Lee Clark said. 


“I can’t think of a major agricultural policy in the past four years Mazankowski has not had a hand in anyway.”


So through his years, this genial Ontario farmer and veteran municipal politician found himself boxed in by the suspicions of westerners who thought his support for marketing boards and government agencies made him suspect, and Quebec Tories who thought they should have more say after the better part of two decades of Ontario-based agriculture ministers.


Through it all, Wise was a gentleman who believed politics was not a blood sport but a way to find compromise to do the best possible for farmers.


He had friends on all sides of the House.


Wise, Canada’s 24th federal agriculture minister, died last week at age 77.


The last time we met, he organized a lunch with dairy farmers in his St. Thomas, Ont., area to talk about the threat to dairy supply management from the free trade agenda being promoted by the new Conservative government. Wise did not take a position other than letting “his farmers” have their say.


However, the fondest memory comes from the day I arrived at his fifth generation family dairy farm to do a profile and he immediately insisted on a ride in a half-ton through his neighbourhood.


He drove a 10 sq. kilometre route that took us past the farms of a former Ontario premier, two previous MPs, at least one provincial minister and several provincial politicians — all products of the local municipal political system.


The message was that he was nothing special, just the latest of many successful politicians who emerged from the local training school.


John Wise was a gentlemen politician whose value cannot be captured by a simple recitation of his accomplishments.

Original Article Here

Why is former agriculture minister at centre of shareholder fight with Agrium?

Lyle Vanclief seems an unlikely candidate to be embroiled in the acrimonious battle between an aggressive New York City investment fund and Agrium Inc., a Canadian agribusiness success story.


Even odder on the surface is that the former Ontario-based federal agriculture minister is on the side of the New York investor, Jana Partners, that is going after the Canadian agribusiness icon. With six percent of Agrium shares, Jana is the largest single shareholder.


In November, Jana nominated Vanclief as one of five directors it wants on the 11-member Agrium board. Agrium is fighting back, and a decision by shareholders will come in May.


Jana wants to use its largest-shareholder status as leverage to convince other shareholders that the Calgary-based farm input supplier giant needs a shakeup. It wants Agrium to increase its shareholder returns and value and separate its production andwholesale fertilizer and farm chemical business from its rapidly expanding retail network.


Agrium leadership vows fierce resistance and even if Jana manages to get directors on the board, it promises to be a bitter and dysfunctional body as the two sides wrestle for control.


So why would 69-year-old Vanclief, who is enjoying retirement with good income and travel, nine years out of the acrimony of politics and living comfortably in the Belleville area farmhouse where he lived as a vegetable and hog farmer before entering politics in 1988, want to enter that kind of bitter political and corporate arena?


He is not saying, referring all questions about the issue to Jana. They like to speak with one voice.


Fair enough.


So why would this American-based investment adviser company with a strong bottom-line objective want this former Canadian farmer and politician on their slate of potential board members when one of their big issues is the need for Agrium to separate its wholesale and retail divisions?


He has no significant background in agri-retailing and no particular expertise in the corporate politics about to unfold.


Jana made it sound simple in its November announcement about the slate of nominated candidates. 


“(Vanclief) will bring to the board his experience dealing with complex agricultural issues in government as well as his prior direct experience operating a commercial farm,” said the statement from New York.


Background conversations with players in the power play point to several reasons for his nomination.


Four of the five proposed directors are American. Vanclief would add Canadian content and a recognizable name with 15 years in Parliament and more than six years as agriculture minister. He is also the only one with two decades of farm experience during which he was a customer of agri-supply companies.


And while he does not have extensive experience as a boardroom brawler, he was agriculture minister in a federal government increasingly dependent on urban voters and yet managed to extract billions of dollars in payments for farmers during his years in office.


Cabinet brawls cannot be any less fierce or complicated than boardroom brawls, and Vanclief certainly has experience there.


Besides, he has a clear understanding of the nuances of Canadian politics and regulation, a valuable asset for any company living in Canada’s highly regulated agri-product world.


One Jana insider has said Vanclief is “the perfect fit.”


It is easy to see why. 


Original Article Here

Many questions need answering to grow agriculture industry

CORNER BROOK Their areas of expertise may be a little different, but Dave Jennings and Antony Card both see collaboration as a necessity for the agriculture industry.

Jennings, a director with the Department of Natural Resources, said agriculture is a growing industry that is essential to the future of the province.

“It’s one of the basic strategic things that we need to do in this province is to have a healthy agriculture sector.”

Jennings made those comments following the conclusion of the “Our Food, Our Future, Growing the Agriculture Industry in Newfoundland and Labrador” conference Friday.

He said the event was aimed at creating collaborative efforts and formalizing a relationship between the Department of Natural Resources, agrifoods, Memorial University, Agriculture Canada, and the Research and Development Corporation.

Jennings said research and development will be a major component of growing the industry.

“We know we have a lot of questions to answer to help this industry grow,” he said.

Questions around new crops, diversification of the industry, land base management and climate change.

Helping answer those questions is where Grenfell will play a role.

Card, associate vice-president (research) at Grenfell said the university is investing $8 million in its environmental science labs and will be hiring five research professors who will work across the forestry and agriculture disciplines.

“We will be at the high end of research and development,” said Card.

“That’s how we will lead.”

Card said the conference was all about bringing the various parties and stakeholders together.

“We know what we’re doing but we needed to engage the others and to start that conversation. Today is the start of the conversation.

“It’s the watershed event that actually brings everybody together.”

Original Article Here

Canadian canola futures fall

ICE Canadian canola futures fell on Friday after the US Department of Agriculture estimated the US soybean and corn crops at higher than expected levels. US soy crop 3 percent larger than trade expected. Canola market underpinned by limited farmer selling of new crop. 

Most-active January canola lost $8.80 or 1.5 percent to $591.40 on volume of 9,375 contracts. January posted weekly loss of 1.9 percent. March canola gave up $8.60 to $589.40 on volume of 2,505 contracts. January-March spread narrowed to a January premium of $2.00, trading 2,236 times.

No deliveries of November contract on Friday. Expiry on November 14. Chicago Board of Trade January soybeans shed 44-1/2 US cents or 3 percent at US $14.51-1/4 per bushel. Paris February rapeseed eased 0.9 percent. Malaysian December palm oil futures gained 0.7 percent. Canadian dollar was trading at $1.0003 against the US dollar or 99.97 US cents at 2:01 pm CDT (1901 GMT), little changed from Thursday's close at $1.0004 versus the US dollar, or 99.96 US cents. 

Copyright Reuters, 2012

Changing agriculture’s image

Saskatchewan has become the first province to sign on to Farm Credit Canada’s new initiative to raise the profile of agriculture in this country.

Greg Stewart, president and CEO of the federal Crown corporation, said “not all Canadians are hearing the true story of agriculture; we intend to change that by telling the facts and getting the real story out”.

Thirty-five Canadian agriculture groups, ranging from 4-H to the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, have already signed on to help, and Stewart is looking for others.

Making the case for the initiative, called “Agriculture More Than Ever,” Stewart said the agriculture sector and the businesses around it employ one of every eight Canadian workers and contribute about $130 billion annually to the national economy. Yet Canadians too often “see pictures of outdated 1930s and ’40s equipment that just doesn’t portray producers as they are today,” he told reporters after the signing ceremony in the Legislative Building.

“The technology involved is unbelievable. With what’s going on out there, I just don’t think people really understand the sophistication and the skills and the talent of all the people who we have in the agricultural industry — and how broad the industry is and how many opportunities there are.”

With global population growing rapidly and needing food, Canada “is one of the handful of countries that will fill that need”.

Signing for the province was Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart who noted a high demand for well-trained graduates and entrepreneurs to work in agriculture.

The minister rattled off a long list of superlatives around agriculture in Saskatchewan, which just pulled past Ontario as the largest farm-export province and leads the country in exporting canary seed, lentils, canola meal and oil, oats, flax seed and rye.

Want an example of how attitudes can change?

How about the MC for Thursday’s ceremony, Cherilyn Nagel, who came home and became a self-described “farm policy wonk” and president of the Western Canada Wheat Growers.

But in high school, she was preoccupied by the next dance contest in her hometown of Mossbank until she began dating a guy — a young farmer — who’s now her husband.

Over the years, she noticed that news coverage of agriculture focused on the rising age of farmers and low prices for what they grew.

But times changed and she soon found herself “talking about what an awesome industry this was.”

Now the mother of two girls, she promised to “teach my daughters that ‘princesses’ too, can drive tractors.”

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

Original Article Here

Gaza Farmers Find Canadian Support

Mohammed Al-Bakri from Gaza’s Union of Agricultural Work Committees points out the "no-go" zones for Palestinian fishers and farmers. Credit: Eva Bartlett/IPS.

GAZA CITY, Sep 29 2012 (IPS) - “From the coast to eight miles out, the sea is like a desert: it’s sandy and there are no fish.” Mohammed Al-Bakri traces a thick line on the wall map before him, following the lines of Gaza’s eastern and northern borders, continuing south from three miles off the coast.

General manager of Gaza’s Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Bakri is well-versed in the woes of the Strip’s fishers and farmers. He explains the insufficient fishing waters Palestinians are limited to, and the consequences of being on the sea at all.

“The Israeli navy attacks the fishermen, arrests them and takes their boats, even within three miles,” he says, referring to the three-mile limit the Israeli authorities have unilaterally imposed on Palestinian fishers.

Under the Oslo accords, Palestinian fishers are authorised to fish 20 nautical miles into Gaza’s sea. The Israeli authorities have illegally downsized Palestinian fishing waters, using lethal violence to enforce new fishing limitations. On a given day, Palestinian fishers are subject to Israeli navy machine gun fire, shelling, water cannoning, and abductions.



“When the fishers are arrested, they just have a boat and a net,” says Bakri. “No weapons, they are just trying to catch to sell at the market, to earn money for their families.

“More than 500 fishers have been arrested and at least 12 killed by the Israeli navy,” says Mohammed Al-Bakri.

With over 3,600 fishermen and 70,000 people dependent on income from the sea, Gaza’s fishing has been decimated by such Israeli tactics and policies. “When there is no income, fishers must depend on food aid from the United Nations (UN),” says Bakri. “But there are a lot of other needs, like housing, clothing, medical care, education.”

“If the situation continues like this, we won’t see any fishers on the sea in the future.”

Nor farmers.

Bakri refers back to the red line on the UN map of Gaza marked ‘Areas restricted for Palestinian access’. Imposed unilaterally by Israeli authorities, the “buffer zone” officially bans Palestinian farmers and civilians from the 300 metres of land flanking Gaza’s eastern and northern borders.

In reality, the UN, international NGOs, and Palestinian organisations have documented Israeli soldiers’ targeting of Palestinians even as far as nearly two kilometres from the border.

“Shooting at people accessing restricted areas is often carried out from remotely-controlled weapon stations…every several hundred metres along the fence, each containing machine guns protected by retractable armoured covers, whose fire can reach targets up to 1.5 km,” reads a 2010 UN report.

Via machine gun fire, shelling, flechette (dart) bombs, drone attacks, land razing and setting crops on fire, the Israeli army has rendered one-third of Gaza’s agricultural land deadly and inaccessible.

Palestinian farmers continue to face Israeli attacks as they attempt to farm their land, for the majority their sole source of income and food for their families.

“We need political support internationally, to pressure Israel into allowing farmers to work their land and fishers to access their sea,” says Bakri.

Heeding his call, and hoping to build “connections of mutual solidarity between Canada and Palestinian farmers and fishers,” a Vancouver-based group aims to broaden political support via their Sep. 30 ‘Day of Action For the Fishers and Farmers of Gaza, Palestine’.

“This particular aspect of the siege is quite compelling because when a society is deprived of the ability to fish and to farm, it is deprived of its ability to sustain itself. It’s part of the ongoing Nakba, and part of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine,” says Charlotte Kates, a lawyer and one of the Day of Action coordinators.

Kates and a delegation traveled to the Gaza Strip earlier this year, meeting with Palestinian fishers and farmers.

“We want to make it clear what is happening at the hands of the occupation, and how it is denying people’s right to live, to exist,” Kates says. “One of our translators could not attend our meetings: a cousin, in the ‘buffer zone’ had been murdered the same day by the Israeli military.”

Noting the close alliance of the Canadian government with Israel, Kates says “the government of (Canadian prime minister) Stephen Harper has nothing but praise for the Israeli state that enforces this siege on Gaza. On March 29, 2006, Canada became the first country in the world to impose a siege on the Palestinian people living in Gaza and the West Bank, declaring cancellation of aid to Palestine.”

Building cross-Canada and international alliances with Palestinian farmers, fishers and civil society is the Vancouver group’s focus with its Day of Action. No less important is changing Canadian policies regarding the siege of the Gaza Strip.

“We want to build a movement that can challenge the Canadian government on these policies, policies which predate the Harper government,” Kates says.

Canada is not alone in endorsing the illegal siege on Gaza – what Desmond Tutu and UN special rapporteurs John Dugard and Richard Falk, among many others, have called collective punishment.

“Last month, the European Union decided to increase their support with Israel,” says Mohammed Al-Bakri.

The Sep. 30 Day of Action will take place in cities across Canada, with “rallies, vigils, the launching of the book ‘Freedom Sailors’, and leafletting,” says Charlotte Kates.

The day of solidarity with Palestinian farmers and fishers has the backing of, among others, Independent Jewish Voices, the Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group (SFPIRG), and former Vancouver city councillor Tim Louis.

“The UN is quite aware of the inhuman condition that Palestinians are subjected to and yet there is no concrete action, except allowing humanitarian aid,” says Louis, calling for “the Canadian government stop its indiscriminate support for Israel until such a time when Israel complies with international law.”

Original Article Here

Scott says agricultural sector has been static in 50 years

Vice President Guy Scott has observed that the agricultural sector in Zambia has remained unchanged for the past 50 years.

Dr Scott says agricultural sector has not moved due to the land tenure system which is customary as well as state and hoped that the Commonwealth Agricultural Conference currently taking place in Zambia will greatly benefit the sector.

The Vice President said this at the 25th Commonwealth Agriculture Conference being held in Livingstone under the theme is “Africa’s role in world food production”.

At the same occasion, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of the United Kingdom, who is in the country, said that needs to improve food and energy by 50 per cent and provision of fresh water by up to 30 per cent by the year 2030.

Princess Anne said she is encouraged by the number of young people who are engaged in agricultural activities and hoped that they will be embedded in agriculture in order to allow the transfer of knowledge.

The Princess said Zambia has potential to develop in both the agricultural and tourism industries due to its rich soils and wildlife.

The Princess has since thanked the Zambian government and the Agricultural and Commercial Society of Zambia for its contribution to the agricultural sector.

The conference has representatives from 14 countries which include Australia, Botswana, Canada, England, Kenya, New Zealand, Papua Guinea, and Scotland. Others are United States of America, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

ZANIS

Original Article Here

Poor rains may cut output, add to inflation woes

By Rajendra Jadhav

Poor rains in India's key pulse-producing southern and western states have affected sowing and could trim output in the 2012-13 year that began on July 1, the agriculture minister said on Friday.

Lower output of pulses could force India, the world's largest producer and consumer, to import more lentils thereby adding to inflation woes.

India, the world's leading importer of lentils, consumes over 20 million tonnes of assorted lentils, or pulses, but production is less than that and the gap is met through imports from Australia, Canada and Myanmar.

Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh received poor rains in June, which is crucial for the plantation of the pulses. Since sowing has been delayed, it will affect the production of pulses in 2012-13, farm minister Sharad Pawar told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.

Pulses are a staple in the Indian diet. They contribute 0.72 percent to India's inflation, which at 7.55 percent currently is worrying the government at a time of slowing economic growth.

The June-September monsoon rains, the main source of water for 55 percent of India's arable land, were 30 percent lower-t han-normal since the beginning of the monsoon season.

India's 1.2 billion people make it one of the world's biggest consumers of rice, sugar and grains. While it is usually self-sufficient in these foodstuff, the country is a major importer of pulses and edible oils.

"I see the situation is not worrisome for paddy as of now," Pawar said.

The shortage of rains should not have a big impact on rice planting in the states like Punjab and Haryana, the major contributors to government granaries, where about 93 percent of arable land is irrigated.

Among the key rice-producing eastern states, Odisha and Chattisgarh had received sufficient rains, Pawar said.

India in recent years has produced bumper harvests of rice, a staple food for many Indians and handed out at subsidised rates to the country's half a billion poor. In 2011 bulging stocks prompted the government to allow exports of the staple.

The country could emerge as the world's second-largest rice exporter this year after Thailand.

The farm sector accounts for about 15 percent of a nearly $2 trillion economy, Asia's third-biggest, where good harvests are crucial to maintain rural incomes and thereby keep up the demand for gold and consumer goods.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Writting by Deepak Sharma; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

Original Article Here

Agriculture a great field, young people told

Justin Schwanke, 11, wants to follow in his father's footsteps and become a farmer. (CBC)

A campaign is underway to tell young people they should consider a career in agriculture — although maybe some, like 11-year-old Justin Schwanke, don't need much convincing.

Schwanke and his family were at the Farm Progress Show in Regina on Wednesday where he told a CBC reporter there's no better job than farming.

"I just wanna be a farmer," Schwanke said. "A farmer, that's it."

That's music to the ears of the Farm Credit Canada, which recently launched its Agriculture More Than Ever campaign.

The company describes it as a multi-year initiative to change perceptions about agriculture. It notes an FCC survey of thousands of farmers revealed that almost 80 per cent would recommend a career in agriculture.

But at the same time, public opinion polls suggest the general public does not think agriculture has a bright future. According to Sask Trends Monitor, the number of farmers under 35 years of age in Saskatchewan has dropped from 15,600 two decades ago to 4,400 last year.

Even so, Regina-based FCC notes that even those who leave the farm can still get a good job in the agri-food industry.

"There are people, young people that are very bright and have lots of life skills because they've grown up on a farm that would be ideal candidates to join the ag industry in many other areas, said Lyndon Carlson, a vice-president with FCC.

Such ideal candidates include Amanda Schoenroth, 23, who is now working toward her degree in geology — but grew up on a farm and is thinking about how higher education could keep her in the industry.

"I could potentially do soil analysis and soil tests ... which is important to any farm industry, especially if you work for a fertilizer company," she said.

FCC says the agri-food industry also has marketing and business jobs to offer young people, due to Canada's growing international trade.

It's a path even farm-loving Justin Schwanke might be following some day.

While the business and science of farming may not have much appeal for him right now, his parents say higher education will be a priority for their son.

"He's going to go to [post-secondary] after he's done high school and after that, the chips fall where they may," Justin's father Brian said.

Original Article Here

Canadian agricultural prices higher than world rate, WTO says

A World Trade Organization analysis done last year has concluded that Canada's domestic agricultural producers are getting prices 11 per cent higher than world prices - due mainly to the supply management system that protects dairy and poultry producers.

That study has been cited in some of the many criticisms of Canada's protectionist policy posted by trade partners, including key participants in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations that Canada was given permission to join this week.

"The report notes that Canada's domestic agriculture prices are 11 per cent higher than world prices due to domestic insulation from world markets," the Australian government said as part of the WTO's regular review of Canadian trade policies.

"Would Canadian consumers benefit from lower prices, and Canadian producers be more globally competitive, if Canada undertook further liberalization of the most heavily protected sectors?"

Questions about supply management were also posed at the WTO's agriculture committee during the review of Canada's trade policies by Brazil, Chile, China, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, the European Union, India, Korea, New Zealand, Thailand and Ukraine, says a Canadian government document obtained under the Access to Information Act.

Colombia, for instance, asked Canada "how it ensures that these support measures do not distort the domestic market price?"

In its replies to WTO members, the Canadian government didn't specifically address the issue of whether Canadian consumers are being gouged.

The queries at the WTO challenged the long-standing Canadian quota system for dairy and poultry producers that is supported by stiff tariffs on imports.

"Supply management is a system that ensures a stable supply of dairy, poultry and eggs to Canadian consumers and the agri-food industry," the Canadian government response states.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz asked the media last November to produce a study which showed that Canadian consumers would benefit from the elimination of supply management.

He pointed out that a Canadian Tire flyer in his mailbox had four litres of milk on sale for $4.19 and a dozen eggs for $1.29.

"So I don't see this increased price to consumers," Ritz said, asking journalists to "show me an economic study where if the dairy farmers of Canada were disbanded, or the poultry farmers were disbanded, that somehow that would benefit consumers."

Ritz's office didn't directly challenge the WTO's findings but referred to reports and statements from industry groups protected by supply management which reject assertions that consumers are being gouged.

"Deregulation of the dairy systems in the U.K. and Australia has caused farm prices to come down, but consumer prices kept increasing with inflation," states the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

"The intermediaries simply increased their own margin after deregulation. Neither farmer nor consumer benefit from deregulation."

Former Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay published a report this week in favour of dismantling supply management which cited Statistics Canada data stating that the average price of four litres of whole milk in Canada was $9.60 in Canada, compared to $3.68 in the U.S.

The Dairy Farmers of Canada, in response to Hall Findlay's report published by the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, accused her of using "misleading" data in a "flawed" report.

The $9.60 figure is "$3 to $4 more than what most consumers pay. This misleading data does not match the experience of consumers in the Canadian marketplace," the organization stated.

However, even the $5.60 to $6.60 figure the Dairy Farmers of Canada says consumers pay for four litres of whole milk remains well above the $3.68 US figure cited in Hall Findlay's report, which is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced this week that Canada and Mexico have been invited to participate in the ambitious TPP trade talks that already include the U.S., Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The U.S., Australia and New Zealand had previously resisted Canada's entry due to concerns about supply management and Canadian intellectual property law.

The Harper government has never budged from its 2011 throne speech commitment to "continue to stand up for Canadian farmers and industries by defending supply management - in all international forums and bilateral negotiations."

The government says it will continue to defend the system in the multilateral TPP talks, though it has also agreed that the matter will be the subject of negotiations.

"Canada has made clear to all TPP members that it would be prepared to discuss all issues as part of the TPP negotiations," states an October, 2011 Agriculture Canada briefing note.

"Canada has also indicated that we will not pre-negotiate or make down payments to join, and that the only appropriate place to discuss issues is at the negotiating table."

Poneil@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/poneilinottawa

Read my blog, Letter from Ottawa, at vancouversun.com/oneil

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Government of Canada Takes Action to Strengthen Food Inspection

Footnote: Written by: Canadian Food Inspection Agency

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 1, 2012) - The Government of Canada announced today that it is developing a stronger, more comprehensive inspection approach to further strengthen food safety in Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is seeking input from stakeholders on ways that Canada's science-based inspection system can be enhanced.

"We already have a top-tier food safety system but our goal is to be the best," said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "Simply put, we want Canadians to have the safest food in the world. That is why we are seeking input from consumers, inspectors, food safety experts, industry and everyone who has a role to play in food safety."

A discussion document called The Case for Change is now available for comment and stakeholders can submit feedback to the CFIA until July 31, 2012. This feedback will help the Agency draft an improved food inspection approach that will be the subject of continued stakeholder consultation throughout the year in order to refine the suggested approach.

This new, more comprehensive food inspection approach aims to include more consistent oversight and management of risk across all regulated food commodities-whether imported or produced domestically. It will also support the next-generation food inspector with new tools and training.

Currently, industry has to meet the multiple and different requirements of eight separate food commodity programs. Industry will benefit from a more consistent inspection approach across commodities that is adaptable to the size and complexity of their operations. Standardized processes will reduce the duplication and financial burden associated with overlapping requirements.

Enhancing inspection is one component of a larger effort aimed at better positioning the CFIA to manage current food safety challenges and opportunities. For example, the CFIA has also begun steps to prepare needed legislative and regulatory amendments. This initiative follows up on the recommendations made by the Independent Investigator Sheila Weatherill.

Enhancing the inspection system is part of the commitment made in Budget 2011, which provided the CFIA with $100 million over five years to modernize food safety inspection in Canada. In addition to designing an improved inspection approach, the CFIA is using this funding to provide better training and more modern tools to front line inspectors. These efforts are being driven by continued discussions with front-line staff across the country, industry and bargaining agents. To complement the CFIA's enhanced inspection capacity, investments are also being directed toward building additional capacity in CFIA's laboratories.

For more information on the CFIA's The Case for Change to modernize food inspection, visit the CFIA website at www.inspection.gc.ca.

Original Article Here

Agriculture Sector Promising for Investors-BMO

TORONTO, ONTARIO, May 25, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Strong emerging-market demand, supply constraints and scope for further product development all represent compelling reasons for continued investment in agriculture-related industries, according to a new report from BMO Economics.

"While farmland values and agriculture-related equities have substantially outperformed - warranting some caution - fundamentals suggest that promising investment opportunities still exist through the agricultural value chain," said Robert Kavcic, Economist, BMO Capital Markets. "Additionally, agriculture provides relatively defensive exposure within the broader commodity sector and is a lower beta alternative for investors emotionally drained by the impact of changing global growth prospects on the more volatile energy and base metal sectors."

"Although the Canadian equity markets have lagged others recently, there appears to be considerable up-side for Canadian investors in the agricultural sector," said Paul Taylor, CIO, BMO Harris Private Banking and BMO Global Asset Management. Mr. Taylor pointed out that global trends such as solid population growth, strong per capita GDP growth in developing economies, loss in arable land per capita, urbanization and the emergence of alternative fuels are expected to push food demand much higher in the next few decades.

The report states that demand for food and other agricultural products is expected to expand at a robust pace, particularly in emerging markets, where brisk population and income growth is boosting consumption. For example, in China:

       

        --  Per-capita food consumption in China has topped 2,900 calories/day,

            above the global average

        --  Higher incomes have led to a shift to protein-rich diets; China's

            protein consumption has surged above the global average

        --  More meat consumption has an impact along the supply chain, including

            higher demand for feed stock

       

       

"Growing demand for food is coming up against increasingly scarce resources, particularly land and water, supporting a secular uptrend in the prices of key farm commodities, related equities and farmland," noted Mr. Kavcic. "After being stagnant for about 20 years, agricultural commodity prices have surged, with the S&P/GSCI Agricultural and Livestock Index at levels more than twice as high as a decade ago."

According to the report, there is also scope for new product development in the agri-food sphere:

       

        --  Costly non-renewable energy is fuelling a search for other sources; U.S.

            ethanol production has nearly tripled since 2006.

        --  Health care is shifting to disease prevention and the use of natural

            products such as nutraceuticals, including eggs with OMEGA-3 from flax,

            calcium-enriched fruit juice, and tomatoes with higher levels of

            lycopene.

       

       

The full report can be found in the weekly Focus publication at www.bmocm.com/economics .

BMO's roots in the Canadian agricultural sector date back to 1817, when it first began working with farmers. The second-largest Ag-Lending bank in Canada, BMO Bank of Montreal provides customized loan and deposit solutions to Canada's agri-business owners, the single largest core commercial sector that the bank serves.

BMO Harris Bank is one of the 10 largest Ag-Lending banks in the United States, and the largest in Wisconsin. BMO Harris Bank brings a tremendous amount of expertise in serving Ag customers; it added new customers this year, increased its overall customer base and plans on continuing to grow its business and serve Ag customers.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly-diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $525 billion as at April 30, 2012, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.

       

        Contacts:

        Media Contacts:

        Peter Scott, Toronto

        416-867-3996

        PeterE.Scott@bmo.com

       

        Nini Krishnappa, Toronto

        416-867-3996

        nini.krishnappa@bmo.com

       

        Ronald Monet, Montreal

        514-877-1873

        ronald.monet@bmo.com

        

        Laurie Grant, Vancouver

        604-665-7596

        laurie.grant@bmo.com

       

       

       

SOURCE: BMO Financial Group

        mailto:PeterE.Scott@bmo.com

        mailto:nini.krishnappa@bmo.com

        mailto:ronald.monet@bmo.com

        mailto:laurie.grant@bmo.com

       

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