Representatives from the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) Government Relations team participated in the Agriculture Industry Consultations for the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) on January 29 in Edmonton and on February 6 in Lethbridge, 2018. Alberta is now in the negotiation phase for the Canadian Agricultural Partnership which will invest in Alberta's agriculture industry over a five year period from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2023 and replaces the current national five-year agricultural policy framework known as Growing Forward 2 (GF2) that expires March 31, 2018. With a $3 billion investment over five years, CAP will strengthen the Canadian agriculture, agrifood and agri-based products sectors.
To ensure industry, stakeholders and the public have an opportunity to guide what CAP looks like in Alberta, two rounds of consultation and dialogue were planned during the development timeline of CAP. The first round took place in the Spring of 2017 and the second round is underway. The current round is focusing on sourcing expertise from groups like UFA and obtaining our input on what the suite of CAP-funded programs in Alberta should look like.
Key to the Canadian Agricultural Partnership is the Pan-Canadian Agricultural Policy Framework; a federal-provincial-territorial initiative that guides strategic programs that support the development of Alberta’s agriculture sector. Federal-provincial and territorial governments are currently working toward a new five-year Pan-Canadian Policy Framework, expected to be in place by the spring of 2018.
There are five prioritized themes that guide the development of CAP programs and the Pan-Canadian Policy Framework. They are:
Product, Market Growth and Diversification
- Building new capacity and tools to help business grow in local, domestic and international markets.
Science and Research
- Turning discoveries into transformative technologies, products, practices and processes that will benefit Albertans.
Risk Management
- Increasing industry adoption of best practices that help to anticipate, mitigate and prepare for risks.
Environmental Sustainability
- Increasing adoption of practices and technologies to improve environmental sustainability, adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gases.
Public Trust
- Improving the public perception of agriculture and food.
As part of the framework development process, the Alberta government sought input from stakeholders like UFA to ensure that the new framework meets the needs of the agriculture and agri-food policy. Representatives from UFA Government Relations took part in in-person consultations and on-line engagement providing input as to how the framework should address the aforementioned prioritized themes.
UFA Government Relations will continue to participate in Canadian Agriculture Partnership consultations ensuring members' voices are present during the development of the Pan-Canadian Agricultural Policy Framework. We will keep our members apprised of developments as they happen. For more information on Canadian Agriculture Partnership and the pan-Canadian agricultural policy framework, please visit coop.ufa.com/government-relations
