Flooding, pests, disease and other extreme weather events are constant risks to the businesses and livelihoods of farmers. The Government of Canada is committed to working with industry partners to explore and develop new risk management tools that meets the needs of Canadian farmers when faced with serious challenges beyond their control.
Member of Parliament, Francis Drouin, has announced a $786,921 investment for Farm Management Canada to develop a new online agricultural risk management tool called “AgriShield.” This online tool will help farmers have real-time assessments of the potential negative impact of risks to their businesses and provide mitigation solutions. For instance, if an overland flood situation is imminent, the tool can help farmers to assess the degree of risk they face and potential mitigation measures that they can adopt, such as tile draining or insurance coverage.
“Canadian farmers face risk every day and it is essential they have the necessary tools to better understand and manage risk,” Drouin said. “The recent flooding in Eastern Ontario and Quebec, for example, shows the need to help farmers more effectively manage risk, so that they can be stronger, more innovative and more competitive.”
This investment is being made through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriRisk Initiatives (ARI), which supports the research and development, as well as the implementation and administration of new risk management tools for use in the agriculture sector.
“Less than one-third of Canada’s farmers have a risk management plan,” added Heather Watson, Executive Director Farm Management Canada. “Our ultimate goal is to increase the awareness and adoption of risk management practices and planning as part of the farm management process and cultivate a more comprehensive understanding and approach to assessing and managing risk within the agricultural sector.”
Quick facts
Farm Management Canada (FMC) is a national organization dedicated exclusively to providing leading edge resources to enable Canadian producers to make sound management decisions.
The online tool covers all areas of potential risk faced by agricultural businesses, gathering data that will enable farmers, commodity groups and the agriculture sector to establish benchmarks for improved risk management performance.
Project partners include the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the consulting firm Meyers Norris Penny.
AgriRisk Initiatives is a Growing Forward 2, Business Risk Management program.
Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada