Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>]

From: Elbert van Donkersgoed <evd@christianfarmers.org>
Subject: [organicgrowing] Resolutions to Remember in the New Year

Corner Post #316
Farm & Countryside Commentary by Elbert van Donkersgoed

Here's a list of resolutions to remember in this New Year:
* Include the sustainability principle in the Canadian vision for
agriculture;
* Increase investment in agricultural programs with environmental benefits;
* Increase incentives for the research, construction and expansion of the
bio-fuels sector;
* Establish a national network of development agencies to ensure rural
economic growth;
* Recognize the unique needs of different rural communities for
infrastructure spending purposes;
* Eliminate impediments to farmer-owned enterprises in Canada;
* Assist farmers to identify and develop production, processing and market
opportunities for specialty, niche and ethnic foods at home and abroad;
* Recognize in federal programs the role of small and medium-sized farms in
providing agricultural products, environmental and aesthetic benefits and
vitality to rural communities;
* Support the intergenerational transfer of farms by changing tax laws that
make transfers difficult; and
* Undertake to do systematic five-year reviews of agricultural policies,
programs and funding to keep abreast of rapidly changing times.

This is a great list for making Canadian agriculture stronger, more vital,
interesting and future oriented. Imagine the language of sustainability in
all federal programs and policies. More investment in agricultural programs
that result in environmental benefits would be guaranteed to follow.

Imagine a network of agencies dedicated to rural development. Imagine the
result: many economic opportunities that complement, rather than depend on,
agricultural development. Rural infrastructure development could throw off
its parroting as "urban knock-off" and refocus on the uniqueness of our
countryside.

Imagine the new jobs and economic spin-off from an import replacement
program for the billions now spent by Canadian's on food imports. Imagine a
rewrite of federal programs - programs that work for small and medium-sized
family farms - the farms that deliver the multi-benefits of quality food,
viable rural communities, aesthetic benefits and environmental enhancements.
Farm safety nets would be linked to real and valuable services delivered for
society - not linked to averages of freefalling farm gate prices at the
mercy of subsidized international production and a rising Canadian dollar.

This is a great list of resolutions. It champions sustainability, builds on
the synergies between agriculture and the countryside and honours the
contribution of the family farm. But, wait! I've borrowed this list! These
recommendations for Canadian agriculture appear in a document written in
October 2002, "Securing Agriculture's Future: Invest Today -- Prosper
Tomorrow." The writers were a dozen Liberal members of Parliament structured
as the Prime Minister's Caucus Task Force on Future Opportunities in
Farming. The Task Force's chair was none other than Bob Speller, now our
federal Minister of Agriculture. In 2004, let's help Bob Speller remember
his resolutions for agriculture.
_____________
"Securing Agriculture's Future: Invest Today Prosper Tomorrow" can be found
at www.liberal.parl.gc.ca/agriculture/agriculture_report_en.pdf.

_________
Elbert van Donkersgoed is the Strategic Policy Advisor of the Christian
Farmers Federation of Ontario, Canada. Corner Post has been heard weekly on
CFCO Radio, Chatham and CKNX Radio, Wingham, Ontario since 1997. Corner Post
has an email subscriber list of more than 3,000 and appears regularly on @g
Worldwide Correspondents at
www.agriculture.com/worldwide/correspondents/index.html. Copyright 2003
Terra Coeur. Send requests to print, post on a website or circulate
electronically to elbert@terracoeur.com.
To be added to the electronic distribution list of Corner Post send email to
elbert@terracoeur.com with SUBSCRIBE as the message. To remove your name,
send email with UNSUBSCRIBE as the message.