Farmers groups, including the National Farmers Union (NFU), are pushing for the federal government to pause their plan to close seven agricultural research facilities across Canada. The cuts come at a time where the federal government is aiming to decrease its spending. Farmers in the NFU are accusing the government of planning these closures without properly considering the impact it will have on the country’s agricultural sector.
In January, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) announced its plans to close seven research facilities in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. In addition to these research centres, AAFC also plans to cut the Organic and Regenerative Research Program and eliminate the jobs required to carry out agricultural research at these facilities.
Leaders of the NFU, farmers and other allies joined a virtual town hall on Thursday, March 19 to discuss strategies on how to push against these developments. Attendees expressed their concern over how these cuts will impact their jobs and, more broadly, the food system.
The NFU joined 20 other groups in signing a letter to the minister of AAFC, Heath MacDonald. The letter highlights how these cuts could lead to long-term harm.
“These cuts threaten the science, research and innovation needs of our sector as it currently prepares for one of the biggest challenges it has ever faced,” the letter reads. “Public research with long term and reliable funding, and that is national in scope, is best placed to address long-term, national and complex problems, like that of climate change.”
READ MORE: Unions share how public service cuts will affect Canadians
The loss of research facilities leave agriculture at risk, but it also may not be the most profitable move for the government. Research done by Richard Gray, the Canadian Grain Policy Research Chair, showed that $370 million in taxpayer investment in wheat breeding results in Canadian benefits reaching $11.8 billion. The AAFC research cuts, however, could harm the work of the Canadian Grain Commission which could jeopardize the quality of grain intended for export.
Amid the risks to agriculture, NFU members at Thursday’s town hall committed to gathering signatures for the House of Commons e-petition against the research cuts. Beyond this, participants also committed to raising more public awareness about the issue.
“This town hall is only one step in achieving our campaign goal of stopping the cuts or pausing the cuts, filling out the petitions are also one step in that,” NFU policy assistant James Hannay said to attendants. “I would encourage you all to find creative ways to take action in your communities, to resist the cuts.”
Another way for people to resist the cuts is to build political will. Vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, MP John Barlow, also expressed his support for the NFU in resisting these cuts on Thursday. He said he does not believe this issue is a lost cause.
“I think it’s important that regardless of our political stripe, we all work together to try and reverse these changes,” Barlow said on Thursday. “You can’t just simply transfer this research somewhere else and then it will be picked up. These facilities are put in these areas for a very specific reason, and they just simply cannot be carbon copied somewhere else.”
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