Ontario’s farmers are important stewards of our working rural landscape. The viability of agriculture maintains our food security, enriches our environment and leads to a healthy rural economy. Yet, all of these benefits are threatened, as farmers face an unprecedented income crisis.

The Green Party of Ontario is committed to working with the agriculture sector to restore the market power of farmers so that they can earn a viable income from the business of farming. The GPO is committed to using a market- and incentive-based approach, rather than regulations, to address environmental issues in agriculture. The GPO will maintain funding for existing programs in the short term and begin to reform programs so that farmers can take advantage of market trends to local and sustainable food consumption.

The objectives of the GPO’s agriculture policy are to restore the financial viability of the family farm, support higher farmgate prices, assure a reliable supply of local sustainably produced food, preserve ecological diversity, and stabilize the social and economic life of rural communities.

To achieve these goals, the Green Party of Ontario will:

■ Invest $300 million over four years in infrastructure programs that foster local marketing and distribution systems that promote local food and provide farmers with a fair share of the consumer food dollar. The GPO’s rural infrastructure program will provide support for the development of producer coops, community access post-harvest handling and storage facilities, farm-based business development support for enterprises that supply local markets, support for small-scale and farm-based processing, the promotion of farmer’s markets and other projects that assist farmers in obtaining higher returns for their products.

■ Invest $100 million over four years to expand the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program to compensate farmers for the public benefits of the ecological goods and services that they provide. The ALUS program provides an incentive for farmers to engage in land-use practices that benefit the environment by promoting biodiversity, habitat and wildlife preservation, carbon sequestration and clean water.

■ Invest $10 million over four years on an Organic Farming Transition Plan to assist farmers with the transition to organic production methods. The organic sector generally offers farmers better pricing and is growing at a rapid and sustained pace. This program will assist Ontario farmers to access this high-value market.

■ Establish food procurement rules for provincial food service venues that support the purchasing of local and sustainably grown and processed food products, and create a four-year $40 million renovation fund to assist food service venues to use more fresh products. It makes sense from the environmental, public health and economic viewpoint to buy local sustainable food. The province needs to set the example by buying locally in government food venues.

■ Create a four year $50 million program to assist farmers with succession planning and to support farm apprenticeship programs. The average age of farmers continues to rise. The Green Party is committed to helping farmers work with family members or others to ensure that agricultural lands are transferred to the next generation intact.

■ Reform agricultural research funding and priorities by redirecting existing funding from technology development such as genetically modified organisms and bulk commodity exports to support for cost and waste minimization and net income maximization for farmers. The GPO will work with OMAFRA staff to redirect resources to support farmers to reduce input costs, while exploring income opportunities from “waste” products. Redirected production support will assist farmers to access premium markets and new income streams such as power generation.

■ Review regulations affecting agriculture to create a level playing field for family farms and small-scale processors. All too often government regulations are written for large operations. This places unnecessary burdens on smaller producers, particularly farms with value-added enterprises. The GPO is committed to working with the food and agricultural sector, as well as other levels of government, to develop regulations, by-laws and zoning laws appropriate for smaller operations, farm-based businesses and alternative products such as raw milk cheeses.