Manitoba believes domestic market has value

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Published: January 3, 2014

Manitoba’s agriculture outlook embraces exports, but also looks to value-added products and customer concerns

When it comes to the future of agriculture on the Canadian Prairies, export markets are top of mind for the region’s deputy ministers of agriculture — or at least most of them.

Speaking during a panel discussion at the recent GrowCanada conference in Calgary, deputy ministers spoke of the need to move agriculture forward by capitalizing on changes outside of the country.

“We do very much believe that there is huge market access opportunities, here and now and on the horizon for the next five to 15 years, specifically for Western Canada,” said Jason Krips, Alberta’s deputy minister for Agriculture and Rural Development.

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The Comprehensive Economic Agreement on Trade (CETA), recently negotiated between Canada and the European Union will play a role in expanding exports, he said, adding that the anticipated Trans-Pacific Partnership is another exciting prospect for agricultural industries.

The former lawyer, who once represented agriculture clients on legislative and industry policy issues, noted that a growing middle class in Asia, particularly China, will present new markets for Canadian commodities in the coming years.

By 2015, 400 million rural Chinese are expected to move into urban centres as incomes and standards of living improve.

“That’s a market size bigger than the United States’ population,” Krips said.

Saskatchewan also aims to cash in on foreign markets, and increasing agricultural production is central to the province’s vision, said Alanna Koch, deputy minister of agriculture in Saskatchewan.

“Agriculture’s goal within the plan for growth is to capitalize on the advantages that we have in the province in order to benefit from the growing global demand for food and to position Saskatchewan as a global leader in food production, food security, and food innovation by 2020,” she said.

That province set a goal to increase crop production by 10 million tonnes by 2020, but last year’s bumper harvest has actually pushed them past their target seven years early.

“We blew that right out of the water,” Koch said. “It’s pretty exciting.”

The challenge will now be to sustain those yields she said, acknowledging that this 2013’s bumper crop was the result of a combination of factors, including weather.

Both Saskatchewan and Alberta cite innovation as key to capitalizing on new demands, focusing on technological changes that will increase yield.

Domestic value added

However, Manitoba’s deputy minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development believes another kind of innovation is also needed if agriculture is going to thrive in the future — the kind of innovation that fosters value-added opportunities in the domestic market.

“That’s going to drive what we believe is the development of efficiencies in the livestock industry,” said Dori Gingera-Beauchemin, adding that having markets at home, as well as in a diversity of overseas locations, is equally important.

She pointed to work at the province’s Food Development Centre and new industry partnerships under Growing Forward 2 as examples.

Koch said the Saskatchewan government would like to follow Manitoba’s example when it comes to developing value-added products, but sees much of that work aimed at international trade.

Both Koch and Krips assert that government regulation could be an impediment to trade, as could public perceptions.

“If we as an industry can be responsible, then government won’t be pressured to come in and take wrong-headed or heavy-handed approaches to regulation,” said Koch, harkening back to her previous roles as former president of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, and a past director with Agricore United.

Gingera-Beauchemin said that Manitoba’s approach is to work with industry so there is more “nimbleness” when it comes to responding to regulations or demands by the public.

About the author

Shannon VanRaes

Reporter

Shannon VanRaes is a journalist and photojournalist with the Manitoba Co-operator. She has previously reported for the the Metros, Winnipeg Sun, Outwords Magazine and the Portage Daily Graphic.

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