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3 THE RURAL VOICE
Jeffrey Carter
`Compare The Share' updating coming
Jeffrey
Carter is a
freelance
journalist
based in
Dresden,
Ontario.
The Ontario Federation of
Agriculture board of directors voted
in their July meeting to have Ralph
Ferguson's Compare the Share study
updated. The action came as a result
of a motion from Lambton County
presented by Wallaceburg-area
farmer Robert Johnston. It's expected
to be complete in time for the OFA
annual convention in November.
The former Lambton-Middlesex
MP and Canadian agriculture
minister published his original study
in 1992. It examined the returns
farmers receive for their role in the
food system as compared to those of
other sectors. Ferguson and his
associates found that the farmers'
share of the food dollar is small, even
insignificant, especially when
compared to profits in the
distribution/retail sector.
The update is being done at St.
Peter's College in Saskatchewan for a
mere $3,000, according to another
Lambton OFA director, Tony
Beernink. Beernink and Johnston
hope the OFA, and Ontario's
agricultural commodity boards, will
take the effort further by widely
distributing the updated study to both
farmers and consumers. (The
National Farmers Union in Ontario is
also raising funds for the
project, according to Julie Pearce, a
Lambton County member.)
The time for OFA to take action
on the issue is long overdue. The
organization has received earlier
requests to support Compare the
Share but each time found reasons
not to move forward.
Persistence pays, it would seem, but
support for Compare the Share
should not be halfhearted. The study
has drawn criticism in the past, often
from people with a stake in the
monied end of the industry.
There's also been a reluctance in
other quarters to complain too loudly.
Processors, for example, live and die
at the whim of their buyers.
That's the problem. While
members of the distribution/retail
sector face furious competition when
dealing with each other. they're in a
position of immense power when
dealing with the processors. Farmers
can be similar affected, either directly
as they attempt to sell fresh produce,
or indirectly through the processors.
In Canada, the food distribution/
retail sector is especially
concentrated. One of the latest trends
with the big players has been the
shift toward the single brand/single
house label approach, according to a
representative of a major condiment
supplier. This exerts a tremendous
amount of pressure on processors. It's
even more difficult for farmers
selling fresh produce to break into the
loop.
What the Compare the Share
study does, is follow the money, a
straightforward approach. The
findings can be startling, however.
Most people are surprised to learn
that the farmers' share in a loaf of
bread is just a few pennies or that
suppliers to the big chains must pay
shelf -space fees.
Spreading the word about the
situation is not a hopeless cause.
Members of the distribution/retail do
pay attention when consumers voice
their opinions through their buying
habits. There's even recognition that
"buying local" is an important
consideration for a growing
percentage of the public.
Farm leaders need to play to that
kind of consumer voice and recruit
others to their cause. The farm
lobby, unfortunately, grows weaker
as farmer numbers dwindle. As a
consequence, allies are needed. Who
better but the people on which the
grocery chains ultimately rely upon,
the consumers.0