To support the development of Growing Forward 2, federal/provincial/territorial (FPT) governments have engaged with a broad range of industry stakeholders. A wide variety of views have been heard and taken into account in discussions and negotiations on the new five-year framework.
Growing Forward 2 consultations include:
- A series of online and face-to-face national and provincial engagement sessions with farmers, processors, distributors and manufacturers, including national organizations and formal advisory groups was held in two phases:
- Phase 1 (May and June 2010) included a series of national and regional workshops. Over 400 farm leaders and other key value chain stakeholders discussed the current state of the sector, the key drivers shaping its future and the challenges and opportunities it may face over the next decade. Discussions also focused on the strategic review of Business Risk Management programming.
- Phase 2 (February - September 2011) consisted of bilateral meetings with provincial federations of agriculture, public meetings across the country, meetings with young farmers and innovators, and opportunities for online submissions. FPT governments, stakeholders and the public discussed the next policy framework and identified policy needs. Over 500 participants discussed the roles of government and industry in achieving the desired outcomes. The result was general consensus on the policy framework priorities and proposed directions.
- Dozens of farmer roundtables across the country by FPT Ministers, federal parliamentarians, and departmental officials;
- One-on-one meetings with Canadian industry leadership and their provincial members;
- Annual meetings between FPT Ministers, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and leading farm groups; and
- The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (SCAAF) held five months of hearings covering 24 meetings and 119 industry stakeholders who delivered over 40 hours of testimony on suggestions for the path forward.
Other reports by organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), George Morris Center and the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) each concluded that agricultural programs must work to improve competitiveness through innovation and trade and have provided valuable input towards the development of Growing Forward 2.
FPT Ministers remain committed to ongoing dialogue with producers and Canadians to shape governments' policies and programs in agriculture and agri-food.
