CHALLENGE OF GLOBALIZATION
Farmers can no longer compete against retailer consolidation, protectionism in major exporters and monopolies

In the 60s and the 70s, Canadian farmers faced the challenge of abundance. In this century, they face the challenge of globalization. Michael Mazur, secretary of the Ontario vegetable growers told an audience at Kemptville that retailer consolidation in Canada is putting farms out of business, and large Canadian purchasers don’t honour long-term contracts. They cancel orders when they can get goods cheaper elsewhere and they pit one region against another.

One of the consequences, he says, is that highly perishable commodities are only being sold to small independent stores. "We are price takers and the prices are set in the global marketplace,"he said.

"Globalization often doesn’t lead to a better bottom line,"Rejean Pommainville, a Russell farm leader said in a give and take session before the Agricultural Odyssey Group task force. New technology is great, he said, but farm debt is rising too high and input costs are out of control. He advocated a farm policy in which Canada developed protectionism like Europe.

For the next year, the Agricultural Odyssey Group will be trooping across the province looking to develop a vision for Ontario Agriculture. "We have to be bold enough to make recommendations that might be controversial,"Roger George told an audience of 40. A former president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), he said the group is ready to upset tradition, calling the present OFA organization antiquated. He said it might make farmers happy to get away to Toronto once in a while but the large numbers of farmers taking part make handling business unwieldy.

George extended his remarks beyond the OFA. He said farm organizations are "not working efficiently". The leadership is fractured, he told the audience. They are timid, too. He said farm leaders will make bold moves as long as "they’re comfortable they’re not going to get hanged for it".

The Odyssey Group is attempting to eventually write a report that will encompass all stakeholders. The Group received $135,000 in funding from the Agricultural Adaptation Council and expects another $100,000 from farm organizations.

While he was looking for feedback, George had some very firm views on what was needed. "We need something entrenched in law like the U.S. farm bill,"he said, adding that the most effective report on agricultural reform dates back to the mid-60s and was called The Challenge of Abundance. However, that report was written only after 100,000 farmers marched on Ottawa and existing farm leadership was turned on its ear.

To survive globalization, Arden Schneckenburger suggested that farmers would have to form a complete loop in which there is cross compliance among the cash crop farmer, the sow operator, McCain and Loblaws.

Another producer suggested that promotion of products and the education of the public was no longer enough. Companies that control prices to suppliers should be labelled monopolistic and disciplined under the law.

Emphasizing the importance of controls, John Newman, executive member of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association, said price will always win out over patriotism or quality. To illustrate, he told a story of offering his daughters and wife a choice between tomatoes from Chile, the U.S. and Canada. They all liked the local tomatoes best. But when they found the Chilean tomatoes were 30 cents cheaper than Canada’s and 10 cents cheaper than U.S. tomatoes they choose Chile.

Steven Byvelds, Dundas County, said he listened to a deputy minister who said farmers have to be able to produce tomatoes cheaper than Chile or go out of business. An angry farmer retorted: "I can buy chemicals in Chile that I can’t buy in Canada. I can hire my labour for $1 per day. Did you tell her that."

The lack of political impact today was not lost on farmers. Gord Garlough, Dundas County, told the audience that farmers "were missing the link with politicians". Farm leaders deal with staff but not with the political bosses.

Before agriculture can develop, "we need some change at the federal level, and I don’t see change for 10 years," Richard Lavigne, a director of Seaway Valley Energy Cooperative said, referring to Liberal leadership.

Others thought the current farm leadership couldn’t cut it at the political level. Alain Leduc, one of the organizers of the farm protests last winter, said current leaders are administrators. Farm organizations need "professional negotiators and lobbyists’.