Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
We are set to lose 40% of our farmers in the next 10 years. That's a staggering statistic that we've heard recently. In many cases, the next generations in produce farming are not choosing to be in the business because of the risk associated with this industry. This is going to affect our food sovereignty, but this bill provides another tool in the tool box for our growers, for the next generations who will be growing perishable products.
Now, not all growers sell to grocery stores. Some sell to wholesalers or some sell to brokers. It's common practice in this industry for this to take place, so not all packers of produce are growers.
Mr. Woods or Dr. Lee, can you perhaps tell us why it's so important that this bill should apply to suppliers and not just to growers?