APAS is calling on the provincial government to join other jurisdictions in increasing the Agristability compensation rate in Saskatchewan.
The advocacy group says the compensation rate needs to be set at 80 percent, up from the current rate of 70 percent.
Vice-President Bill Prybylski says farming is becoming riskier, and the compensation needs to adapt to that.
“Farmers put a lot of their capital at risk to get the crop in and harvest it again and having some sort of insurance program to help mitigate some of that risk is extremely important,” said Prybylski. “As farmers get bigger, and bigger, and the capital investment from producers get larger, and larger every year, it gets to be more, and more of a risk that, as producers, it’s getting harder and harder to justify.”
Prybylski says 2021 has already proven to be a difficult year for producers as they have faced drought conditions, flooding, and now a record-breaking heat wave.
He adds with extreme weather events happening more often, it’s important for the government to remember what Agristability is meant to do.
“The Agristability program was designed to help producers pull through some of those years when production just isn’t there because of the weather, or whatever conditions out there that don’t allow a producer to grow the crop they normally would, or not be able to extract enough money for the market to cover their expenses, and hopefully it will again.”
Prybylski says producers are going to be heavily relied on during the COVID-19 recovery, so it’s time for the government to give them the help they need.
“Agriculture is going to be one of the things that drives the economic recovery, and I think this is a very good opportunity for the provincial government to invest in agriculture,” said Prybylski. “Producers have put a lot of faith in the province, in the markets, in mother nature, and we’d just like to see the provincial government step up to the plate for us.”
Ontario, B.C., and Quebec have all increased their Agristability compensation rates to 80 percent.