According to a new report published by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI), Canada is not doing as well as we have in the past when it comes to the agriculture industry. The report suggests that Canada’s agricultural policy needs to be revisited and overhauled in order to compensate for this drop in the industry.
In 2009 alone, exports fell by 9 per cent while imports rose by 2 per cent; while Canada used to be the third largest exporter of food products, it has now fallen to the seventh largest. If things keep changing like this, it could have a huge impact on our economy, as the agriculture industry currently generates two million jobs and accounts for 8.2 per cent of the gross domestic product.
CAPI is calling for a overhaul that will create a long-term plan to better this industry, with objectives and targets that can be met. They would also like to see different sectors working more closely with the agriculture industry (ie – the health, transportation and environmental industries).
One of the largest improvements CAPI would like to see is in relation to innovation in the agriculture industry. Recently, R&D in the agriculture industry has decreased drastically, but in order to make the industry more able to face future challenges, more innovation must be done to reduce risk and create opportunities in agriculture.
The full report can be found on the CAPI website.
