Farm delegations from U.S., Mexico compare notes in Saskatoon

Delegations from Canada, the United States and Mexico were in Saskatoon for the 32nd Tri-National Agricultural Accord, a longstanding commitment between the countries to collaborate on agricultural trade and development.

“The accord is an opportunity to strengthen long-standing relationships with the United States and Mexico as we work together on joint priorities like economic growth, trade and food security in North America,” Minister of Agriculture David Marit said.

“This event is an opportunity to discuss agricultural trade issues and to demonstrate that Saskatchewan producers lead in sustainable agricultural practices while setting new records for agri-food production and exports.”

Accounting for 33 per cent of all agri-food exports from Saskatchewan, the United States is Saskatchewan’s top customer. That amounts to sales of about $6.2 billion.

Mexico is Saskatchewan’s fourth-largest market with exports valued at around $992 million, according to the provincial government.

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Representatives from each country spent a few days getting a closer look at Saskatchewan’s agricultural sector in action, with tours of the Crop Development Centre Kernen Research Farm.

There they learned about ecological and grazing studies being done locally, as well as a trip to Wanuskewin Heritage Park to learn about efforts to restore the grasslands and the return of bison.

One of the issues that was discussed in meetings was animal health and emerging diseases like African Swine Fever.

“As we know, lots of animals cross those borders every single day between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico,” said Blayne Arthur, secretary of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA).

“How can we make certain we are as prepared as possible for any disease that might impact us? And I think certainly what we heard from a producer/stakeholder perspective was they want to hear from the provincial and state and federal government that there is a plan, how that plan is going to impact them, so they can plan on their end. And that was really important to hear.”

Industry invited to the table

This year, representatives from the industry were invited to participate for the first time.

Pulse Canada says each of the three countries have strengths, which benefit the agricultural sector as a whole.

“One thing that everyone agrees on is that each country brings a different advantage to our continental trading block, and that’s greatly enabled by the Canada/U.S./Mexico trade agreement,” said Mac Ross, director of market access and trade policy with Pulse Canada.

“And that’s been extremely beneficial to the agricultural sector and ensuring the availability and affordability of food across the region.”

Ross says the main takeaway from the event was the topic of regulatory harmonization being a top priority.

“It was reflected in all of the closing statements from the leads of each country’s delegation,” said Ross.

“Allowing our growers in each country to have the technology and innovation that allows them to grow sustainable and quality food in an environment that’s becoming increasingly volatile and changing climactic patterns. So we need more resilient crops, technology allows us to do that. In order to enable that, we need a science-based, risk-based regulatory framework that’s predictable, transparent and timely.”

Dale Leftwich, policy manager at SaskCanola, says while there are still isolated disagreements between parties, it’s necessary to collaborate on an international scale and leave politics out of the conversation.

“North America is in this together, and we have to take things to an international scale,” he said. “And even if we disagree on a thing here or a thing there, it’s above politics. The idea is we need to feed the world, we have food insecurity, and that doesn’t allow for a whole lot of petty bickering.”

Ted McKinney, CEO of NASDA, says “There’s no better neighbourhood on earth” agriculturally than North America, including Mexico.

But he says there are countries around the world who don’t believe that.

Call to 'double down'

In his closing remarks, he called on provincial and state officials to “double down.”

“At a time when many countries are backing off, putting climate above productivity, I would say that’s a mistake,” said McKinney. “You can do both. Climate change and how we address environment are so important. But it’s not a zero-sum game. It’s not an either-or, it’s an and. And we’re doing it already, we just have not been telling our story here in North America.”

McKinney says continued collaboration between the three countries will help consumers around the world understand the dual responsibility of the agriculture sector.

“We’ve got a program that helps with productivity, we cannot forget that. But also the climate change, environmental duties and responsibilities as well. It’s both.”