Organic growers push for recognition in federal agriculture strategy

The Canadian Organic Growers are pushing the federal government to recognize their sector in the federal Sustainable Agriculture Strategy, set to be published later this year.

“The [Sustainable Agriculture Strategy] is and can be a big opportunity, and organic and regenerative have a lot to offer,” said Katie Fettes, COG’s director of policy and research, in an online presentation yesterday.

The federal strategy, announced in late 2022, is touted as positioning Canada to be a world leader in sustainability.

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COG is a member of the strategy’s advisory committee, along with multiple producer groups, conservation groups, and the Manitoba Metis Federation, which Fettes said has coordinated Indigenous community engagement.

Following public consultation, the federal government published a ‘What We Heard’ report late last year.

Fettes said the strategy is forming around six principles: supporting productivity (i.e. economics and profitability), forward thinking, respecting regionality, integration and collaboration, inclusivity (e.g. recognition of Indigenous groups’ interests, the diversity of farmers across operational scales, demographics, etc.), and basis in evidence.

COG and its partners in the organic sector have been making the case that organic producers can fulfill some of the goals of the strategy, Fettes said.

For instance, while ecological practices aren’t exclusive to organic farming, organic farms often “can’t do without them,” she said.

The sector’s third-party verified system also has built-in incentives to help maintain those ecological practices.

“We don’t just want to see uptake of practices. We also want to see them maintained and built upon,” Fettes said.

Other key messages have included the need for the strategy to include multiple pathways for a diverse Canadian agricultural sector; that systems-based approaches like organic are complementary to the strategy; and that the demand for organic food is outpacing the Canadian supply.

Ahead of the next meeting to discuss the strategy, COG is asking for producer feedback via a survey on their website. The deadline for that survey is June 7.