To the Editor:
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has released a major new report, Losing Our Grip - 2015 Update, which revisits and expands upon the information and analysis of corporate farmland buy-up, farm debt and input financing published by the NFU in 2010.
The update was undertaken to provide a well-documented assessment of increasing corporate control of farmland and the acceleration of farm debt, now approaching $80 billion.
This report will allow farmers, the general public and policy-makers to critically examine the ownership concentration process and the financial mechanisms that facilitate them. The report concludes with a series of policy recommendations to reclaim farmer autonomy and food sovereignty.
“Young farmers face a double-whammy when it comes to getting started,” said Matt Gehl, NFU Region 6 (Saskatchewan) Board member. “We not only have to compete with pension funds and other huge institutional investors in the land market, we also face huge life-time debt loads to pay for land and equipment. Without laws that seriously control these land-investment companies and agriculture policy that supports decent farm livelihoods, Canada is going to lose its next generation of farmers and end up with something like the serfdom many of our ancestors tried to escape.”
Losing Our Grip – 2015 Update profiles several companies that have been buying up farmland since 2010, including Bonnefield Financial, Assiniboia Capital, Agcapita, Walton International and AGInvest Canada, highlighting their financial strategies.
Losing Our Grip – 2015 Update also delves into the relationship between accelerating total farm debt, farmland investment companies, lending by input companies and federal agricultural policy.
Excessive debt levels restrict farmer autonomy and are a significant barrier to young and new farmers.
The report concludes with a set of recommendations to implement a more just system of land ownership and move Canada towards food sovereignty.
National Farmers Union
