Thank you very much and good morning. Thank you for inviting us to be part of your study on the next agricultural policy framework.
My name is Kurt Siemens. I'm a third-generation egg farmer from Manitoba. I began running the farm that I grew up on in 1993. I now farm with my oldest son, Harley, who recently graduated from the University of Manitoba with an agricultural diploma. In addition to farming, I'm actively involved with the Egg Farmers of Canada. I've been a director since 2009. EFC represents about 1,000 regulated egg farmers in all provinces and the Northwest Territories.
A uniquely Canadian system of supply management gives Canadians fresh, local, high-quality eggs and sustains vibrant rural communities. The egg industry is in its 10th consecutive year of retail sales growth. Our industry also supports more than 1,700 jobs, delivers $428 million in tax revenues, and contributes $1.2 billion to Canad's GDP.
We believe that operating under supply management is a privilege and a great responsibility, and have been deeply committed to honouring our social licence and strengthening public trust for years. We believe that business success and giving are linked, and this is embedded in our strategic plan known simply as “the EFC way”. That is why we operate a national young farmers' program to nurture the next generation, and why we invest in the long-term programs of four renowned researchers and their teams. It underpins our decades of donations to partners like Food Banks Canada, Canadian Food for Children, and more recently, the Breakfast Club of Canada.
It's why we participate in global initiatives like the International Egg Foundation through which Heart for Africa Canada has received close to $1 million and our on-the-ground expertise in establishing a layer of operation.
Now, countless orphans and people adversely affected by HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty, and malnutrition are benefiting from the humble egg. That's why we are playing a central role in the development of a public trust network. It's an accumulation of government and industry collaboration that started in October of 2015 in Winnipeg, when a small group imagined a national dialogue on these critical topics. It's also why we are here today.
Quite simply, we believe that agriculture represents one of Canada's biggest global economic opportunities and that it is time that the progress and potential of this sector is fully recognized and leveraged. The world's population is estimated to grow to 9.6 billion by 2050. This will require a 70% increase in global food production. Canada is well positioned to play a vital role in feeding Canadians and the world with its safe, high-quality products.
In order to do so, policy and budget decisions must recognize agriculture as a strategic growth sector and a significant contributor to rural and urban economies. An exemplary design and delivery of the next agricultural policy framework is essential, as agriculture needs support in preventing and treating certain diseases and controlling pests, producing more food with fewer resources, responding to growing consumer interests and expectations regarding food production, being responsible stewards of the land and providers of environmental public goods, and maintaining a sustainable lifestyle for farmers and future generations.
With growing forward 2 ending in 2018, it is imperative that the government develop and fully fund the next policy framework to support innovation. A critical input to this process is Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's ongoing consultations and the resultant “Calgary Statement”.
We are active participants in this process and are reassured by the commitment to transparency and the mechanisms that aim to keep information and input flowing between industry, stakeholders, and all levels of government. We also want to acknowledge the significant work that the CFIA has undertaken in developing a suite of policy and program recommendations for the next agricultural policy framework.
Of the many constructive ideas we've heard along the way, today we'd like to emphasize our support for the following: investments that facilitate more integrated partnerships in agrifood value chains; funding of broadband technology adoption; and ecosystem/environmental programs that are incentive-based, community-delivered, and voluntary. We also support a joint approach to addressing heightened concerns about food production and government assistance in addressing the significant trust gap between science-based innovation and consumer acceptability, and the understanding of that innovation. We support streamlining of the processes and more mid-project/program flexibility that recognizes change and natural cycles within agriculture. We support significant investment to renew and reinvigorate agriculture and agrifood research to a more meaningful level. investments should focus on priority areas, developing expertise, infrastructure and on mobilizing knowledge for primary producers and the rest of the value chain. We support greater transparency and education on funding opportunities, and on successful initiatives, and their outcomes.
In the spirit of that last comment, I'd like to conclude with a success story. Alberta's Brant Colony has become the Canadian egg industry's first net-zero layer barn, a story that has garnered significant attention and praise. It received $250,000 from growing forward 2 for a feasibility assessment, capital equipment, monitoring, and extension. The project has been an inspiration for EFC's new research chair in sustainability, Nathan Pelletier, who recently showed that over the last 50 years egg farming has doubled production while cutting its environmental footprint in half. He is presently developing a research program that we hope will spur more of our farms to pursue excellence across the pillars of sustainability, where environment, animal welfare, worker health and safety, food safety and quality, and affordability are all considered. To us, the net-zero barn is what timely, effective, multi-stakeholder collaboration looks like, and it is the epitome of what a well-constructed and well-delivered agricultural policy framework should yield in droves.
We want to see the Canadian agriculture and agrifood sector realize immense growth, fuelled by the next agricultural policy framework, and are eager to continue to collaborate with the government in this regard.
I thank you for your time, and I look forward to your questions.