Conference 2022 Panel Recap - "Re-Envisioning Agriculture and the Role of Producers"

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Frédérick Clerson, of the University of Arkansas, and Kat Lorimer and Ian McCreary of Farmers for Climate Solutions, gave an engaging discussion on “Re-Envisioning Agriculture and the Role of Producers” in the last concurrent panel of this year’s conference.

Frederick Clerson

Frederick outlined the evolution of agriculture in Ontario and Quebec as documented in his PhD dissertation. He started by noting how the main policies surrounding agriculture have been in place for decades. For instance, the framework for crop insurance was established in 1950. He also stated that, since the 50’s, agriculture has been seen as a strong economic industry and farms that specialize in certain areas are favourable. However, he says this paradigm does not reflect the evolution of agriculture, society, or political imperatives. 

Frederick outlined three trajectories for agriculture: (1) industrialization, (2) re-peasantization, and (3) deactivation. Industrialization is driven by science and sees farmers as a step in the chain of production. Repeasantization, on the other hand, allows farmers to be at every step of the chain of production, allowing farmers to regain autonomy in the system. Finally, deactivation occurs when farmers quit the industry entirely.

Frederick discussed how deactivation and re-peasantization have both been on the rise in Ontario and Quebec. Since the 1970’s, half of all farms in these jurisdictions have left the industry. Further, he notes that repeasantization has been on the rise with younger farmers entering the industry with mixed farms as opposed to specialized ones. As peasant agriculture becomes more present, it would be suspected that the voice of peasants within the industry would also become more prominent, but Frederick points out that this is unfortunately not the case. Peasant farmers have weak political power and mostly generate marginal changes as a result. Decisionmakers appear to appreciate the ways peasant-style farms improve society but fail to give them a place at the table. Instead, agri-food systems continue to dominant the conversation despite its negative impacts on the environment and society.

Ian McCreary and Kat Lorimer

Ian McCreary and Kat Lorimer have both worked on task forces within their roles at Farmers for Climate Solutions. This organization has the goal of scaling up climate friendly practices to reduce GHG emissions, increase carbon sequestration, and strengthen resilience on farms across Canada.

Ian’s recent work included creating a budget based on functioning mitigation practices that could be implemented with federal funding only. He said it was important for them to use practices that have already been used on farms to support their recommendations since it would not be effective to promote practices that are not grounded in practice. From the practices studies, the task force presented six policy recommendations, including normalizing rotational grazing.

Kat’s most recent task force tackled Canada’s Agricultural Policy Framework. Farmers for Climate Solutions aims to increase funding directed at mitigation, which can include increasing funding for Beneficial Management Practices. When looking at BMP’s, Kat says it is important to recognize that there will not be one solution that works for all farms so the funding would have to acknowledge that the approaches will vary. For example, they suggested subsidies for farms who have implemented instruments to mitigate the impacts on manure on their farms as a means of GHG mitigation.

All three of these speakers left attendees aspiring to re-imagine agriculture in Canada. Frederick left the audience wondering what agriculture models we would see if were to support farmers on all of the aspects they do on the farm. Ian and Kat’s work highlighted what can happen when farmers, researchers, and policy makers come together: they have put evidence-based, farmer focused, and climate aware policies on the table. It is now time for policy makers to work with these policies and strive for change.