Shoppers should prepare for more sticker shock at the grocery store – and not just because of the rising costs of fuel and supply chain shortages.
Higher food prices are on the horizon as a result of a recent decision by the federal government to close seven Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research facilities across the country.
These centres are vital to Canada’s food system. Losing them would not only drive-up grocery prices but would also jeopardize our long-term food security and food sovereignty just as climate change impacts intensify.
The federal government must reverse course on this short-sighted move.
The closures, to happen within 12 months, affect research centres and research farms in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
While the loss of rural research stations might not seem relevant to those living in big cities, the closures will affect Canadians everywhere in the country – the research centres responsible for developing organic oats for breakfast and organic wheat for bread and pastry that residents of urban centres enjoy are now on the chopping block.
Closing the centres will lead to the loss of over 600 highly skilled researchers, technicians and support staff whose experience and knowledge in plant breeding, soil health and organic and regenerative crop and livestock research are irreplaceable.
Decades of public investment in research will be discarded.
By shuttering these facilities, the federal government is slicing into its own research capacity to find a mere $154.7 million in savings by 2028-29.
Our calculations suggest these cuts will save the average Canadian taxpayer roughly 52 cents per month. While that might sound fiscally responsible, it is really a “false economy” – a short-term move that will cost Canadians far more for groceries in a future beset with climate, biodiversity and pollution challenges.
What is most alarming is that these cuts specifically target organic and regenerative research.
This matters because climate change hits your breakfast, lunch and dinner plate. Organic farming is not just a trend – it’s a strategy for coping with climate change.
Research conducted at these stations helps farmers develop crop varieties that require less synthetic fertilizer – a substance that is expensive, fossil-fuel-intensive to produce and harmful to the environment.
When these stations close, we drastically undercut our ability to test new plant varieties to ensure they can succeed in Canadian conditions, leading to food systems less able to adapt to the droughts and pests that are already driving up food prices.
Canada already has a demand-supply gap when it comes to organics food, and it will only get worse without the expertise of the research centres.
Canada’s organic market is massive, valued at over $10.55 billion in 2023, with growing consumer demand. Yet domestic organic production has not kept pace, forcing us to import more and lose out on local innovation.
Without public research to help farmers transition to organic practices – practices that are often more intensive to research and implement – the cost of organic products grown in Canada will likely stay high or we will continue to rely on imports.
AAFC research centres also help protect public plant breeding – supporting publicly funded institutions like universities in developing new crop varieties – ensuring that Canadians are not reliant on large international corporations to tell us how to grow our food.
The hasty and alarming nature of the cuts has galvanized environmental groups and agricultural organizations throughout the country – including spurring a petition to halt the closures.
Canadians care deeply about sustainability, environmental stewardship and food quality. Cutting the very science that makes agriculture more sustainable in an increasingly unpredictable climate is foolish.
Such cuts place Canada’s food production future in the hands of multinational corporations that might not have our best interests at heart – putting our food security and sovereignty at risk.
The agriculture and agri-food sector contributes approximately $150 billion to Canada’s economy and supports more than two million jobs. Agricultural exports exceed $100 billion.
The National Farmers Union has noted that agricultural research has historically offered massive returns for both farmers and the public – sometimes up to $35 for every dollar spent on the programs.
In a time of great change in climate and world politics, we need to reverse the closures and invest in our agricultural research stations to protect economic sovereignty and growth.
Photo courtesy of DepositPhotos
