Ottawa-Canada has a market advantage in farm and food products and needs to work at fulfilling all the good opportunities that are available and not be sidetracked by the rhetoric surrounding sustainability, says Scott Ross, Executive Director of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

Embracing sustainability is all about continuous improvement, he said during a panel discussion at the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute annual conference. “We need to look at the data and work at helping the sector advance.” The emphasis should be on filling the international demand for food, he said.

Farmers want to see the sustainability data and then they can decide how sustainability policies could help them. “If they spend a lot of time in dialogues without tangible results, there may not be a consensus on what should be done. Every commodity has a different perspective and prospects. Innovation in Canada will be a benefit.”

While there have been incredible consultations on sustainability programs and actions during the last few years, there is also a lot of frustration because with all the talk but “things do not go anywhere.”

Alanna Koch, Chair of the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), said a study by that organization shows that Canadian agriculture has lowered its carbon footprint, which is an important step in achieving sustainability. As that footprint is lowered further, more of its products will reach sustainability standards. “Our work isn’t done. Sustainability is about continued progress so we must continue to make improvements.

“Decisions about what farmers should do to improve sustainability should not be made without their involvement. Government policies are always about compromises and come with benefits and drawbacks.” Governments could offer tax incentives to encourage sustainable practices.

Kate Harrison, Vice-Chair of Summa Strategies Canada, said to get to the next sustainability level, “We need to identify the barriers and develop accountability policies.” Canada also needs to keep track of what other countries are doing that it is not and consider how to copy or match them. “It’s critical that all our sustainability policies are connected.”

This news item prepared for National Newswatch