20 farm groups to participate in an advisory committee for the Strategy.Ottawa—A wide swath of the agriculture community will be participating in an advisory committee on the development of a Sustainable Agriculture Strategy that will include a consultation with producers, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has announced.Her department and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) will co-chair the advisory committee on the Strategy, which aims to support the livelihoods of farmers while growing a sustainable agriculture sector, Bibeau told a news conference. The Strategy “will pave the way to help us sustain the livelihoods of farmers. Drawing from their expertise and best practices, we can ensure that the sector is more resilient in the face of climate change.”By identifying Strategy goals and a way forward, Canada's agriculture sector will be equipped to recover quickly from extreme events, thrive in a changing climate, contribute to world food security while also supporting Canada's overall efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, she said.The government wants to encourage more farmers to adopt various sustainability improvement measures and best practices that many producers have already implemented. The advisory committee members will help in identifying and promoting them.CFA President Mary Robinson said the Strategy “comes at a critical time for Canadian producers. Farmers are being asked to balance immediate financial pressures with long-term sustainability goals. This approach, which considers all facets of sustainability – environmental, economic, and social – is needed to ensure we can find pragmatic business solutions that support continued competitiveness and reduce the sector's environmental footprint.”Agriculture has already done plenty to build its ability to be a carbon sink and the Advisory Committee will make sure that new programs for farmers are sustainable and affordable.Progress on sustainability could come in another form during 2023 when the more than 100 organizations working on a National Index on Agri-Food Performance plan to release a pilot version of the Index as well as a proposal for a Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking.The Strategy will be developed in close collaboration with the agricultural sector and provincial governments including public consultations and targeted workshops, Bibeau said. “The overarching and integrated strategy will focus on five priority issues – soil health, climate adaptation and resilience, water, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity.”The Strategy will combine action needed in the agriculture sector and identify goals and actions from consultations on developing a path towards reducing fertilizer emissions in the sector, a National Adaptation Strategy, the new Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, Canada's contribution to the Global Methane Pledge, as set out in Canada's Methane Strategy, and the development of the Canada Water Agency.In addition to CFA, the participants in the Advisory Committee will be Grain Growers of Canada, National Farmers Union, Canadian Cattle Association, Canadian Pork Council, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Canola Council of Canada, Canadian Canola Growers Association, Egg Farmers of Canada, Soy Canada, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, Fruit & Vegetable Growers of Canada, Farmers for Climate Solutions, Fertilizer Canada, Canadian Wildlife Federation, Canola Council of Canada, Chicken Farmers of Canada, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Union de producteurs agricoles, Ducks Unlimited, Canadian Organic Growers and Nature United.Producers are being encouraged to read and comment on by March 31 a discussion document available on the Agriculture Canada website. It is available at https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/about-our-department/transparency-and-corporate-reporting/public-opinion-research-and-consultations/share-ideas-sustainable-agriculture-strategy-discussion-document