In terms of the main challenges, it's important to understand that they are intensifying and affect all producers, not just the organic sector. We're facing extreme weather conditions, unstable markets and a significant rise in costs, in a context where many farms are already heavily in debt.
These financial and operational pressures take a toll on producers' well-being. In this context, risk management programs are especially important. However, they are often ill-suited to the realities on the ground.
Under AgriStability, for example, program support is difficult to trigger. The calculation based on historical data penalizes farms that are growing or transitioning. Therefore, the thresholds need to be lowered to better reflect the actual growth trends of farms.
AgriInvest, for its part, is simple and appreciated, but the returns are too low in the current inflationary context. Raising the contribution rates would make it a more effective tool.
As for crop insurance, the insured value is often lower than the real organic market value, hence the importance of being able to insure at actual contract value.
Yield averages are also becoming less and less representative, particularly when losses accumulate owing to weather conditions. The result is a decrease in historical yields, which reduces coverage at the very time when needs are increasing.
In some cases, producers face a double penalty: less protection at a higher cost.
There still isn't sufficient support for the transition to organic farming. Targeted support during these critical years is essential.
Finally, agronomic support is a major lever. Independent specialized services must be maintained and strengthened, and this model should be developed elsewhere in Canada. In addition, coverage is often individual rather than collective, which shifts more risk to producers and moves away from the principle of pooling.
The complexity, deadlines and lack of predictability also limit the use of programs. The process needs to be simpler and faster.
In conclusion, producers are ready to innovate, take risks and meet the demand of a growing organic sector.
We would have liked to propose simple, uniform solutions applicable to all systems across Canada, but the reality is that Canadian agriculture is profoundly diverse. This diversity is the very foundation of our resilience. Our agricultural sector needs to be viewed as a living system, a collection of different farms that form a healthy and strong system.
It is essential to have flexible risk management programs that can adapt to these diverse realities.
Thank you.