Economic impact and funding shortfall of RMP/SDRM programs

The Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition (OASC) released results of a new study examining the economic impact that Ontario’s Risk Management Program (RMP) and Self-Directed Risk Management Program (SDRM) have on Ontario farms, farm production and the broader Ontario economy. 

Highlights of the study include: 

• Every dollar spent on RMP/SDRM leads to $2.01 – $3.60 return on investment. In 2020, this led to an increase in economic output of between $282.6 million and $506.2 million. 
• RMP/SDRM helps support more than 47,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal jobs. More than 95 per cent of participating farmers agree that not having access to this program would negatively impact their farm operations. 
• RMP/SDRM support allows farmers to mitigate input cost volatility, and enables many participating farmers to increase their investments in innovation, equipment and labour. 
• On average for the 2016 – 2020 years, program funding only covered 40.4 per cent of calculated insurance benefits for participating farmers due to the current funding cap. 

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The full report can be accessed at the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition website.