March 2007 Archives

In the western Canadian agricultural sector, the value added per employed person is about 30% less than that of other sectors in western Canada. The real competition for the future viability of the agricultural industry is not with our international competitors - farmers in the US, EU, Mexico, China, and Australia - but rather with other domestic sectors that are able to out-compete local farmers and supply chain participants for access to land, labour, and capital. If we do not reverse this productivity gap, agriculture will become a sunset industry.

The Saskatchewan Government has a plan to convert ten percent of the arable land in Saskatchewan to agroforestry by 2025. Hesseln shares issues that must be considered for a land-use conversion program of this magnitude to be successful. The potential markets, long-term demand, competition, and tree species all need to be carefully considered. There is also an important role for policy; for example, providing incentives for producers to convert to agroforestry systems to initially establish the industry which must be profitable as it cannot rely on goverment support over the long-term. If Saskatchewan is to become a world leader in agroforestry, it must be proactive, forward thinking, and purposefully position itself in the global market.