Skip to content
 

Executive Summary December 15, 2004

Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry  

Summary of the Committee’s Report on Value-added and Agriculture in Canada

The Report contains 22 recommendations to assist farmers in pursuing value-added strategies in Canada. The recommendations reflect the concerns that witnesses expressed during Committee meetings, which were held from September 2003 to May 2004.

The Report puts special focus on the farmer. It cites the major factors that are contributing to the rapid transformations affecting the farming sector, and it argues that Canada should make a priority of developing its value-added sector to help meet the present and future challenges facing the industry. This will require continued emphasis on attributes relating to food safety and quality, to achieve the goal of premium-brand recognition for Canadian products. The Report also recommends that programs and regulatory frameworks be designed to support value-added investment in Canada.

In its report, the Committee recommends that the government focus in particular on small-scale operations, to help them achieve food quality and safety standards. A number of recommendations are aimed at positioning Canada as a world leader in organic production. Farmer-owned food processing and cooperatives are cited as ways in which farmers can capture value-added benefits by moving up the food-value chain, and the Committee made recommendations that would promote this process. In the Report, the Committee emphasized the need for the supply management system to be flexible in accommodating value-added initiatives, as well as the importance of research and innovation.

Marketing and communication play a key role in developing value-added activities. The Committee recommends that the federal government be innovative in its approach to informing farmers of value-added opportunities and promoting high-quality Canadian products around the world. Sections are also devoted to improving trade for value-added agricultural products, both domestically and internationally.


For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact:

Leslie Dauncey
Media Relations
Senate Communications Directorate
Toll-free: 1-800-267-7362
Tel.: (613) 995-7966 (National Capital Region)
E-mail: dauncl@sen.parl.gc.ca

Line Gravel
Committee Clerk
Toll-free: 1-800-267-7362
Tel.: (613) 990-6081 (National Capital Region)
E-mail: gravel@sen.parl.gc.ca

Back to top