Protectionism vs Collaboration
History points to a fragmented past in agriculture among commodities. A time in which the sectors had a focus to compete for market share and thoughts of collaborative efforts were non- existent. It’s tough to put together agricultural policy with so many bulls in the pen and it’s tougher yet to sell a nation to ready buyers should commodities pit against each other at the bargaining table.
Keeping that linear mindset is certain to tip the cart in favor of the competition – outside of our borders. We may want to consider what happens when we engage in collaboration across sectors with a single goal and step away from the learned behaviour of protectionism.
When we focus on food – not sectors – and are mature enough to pitch with the competition, then food and food processing suddenly becomes a solution to solve economic woes and that grabs attention. Finding a way to navigate and to maintain the freedom to operate within that framework is doable, but we have to ask our sectors to shift the dialogue to allow for that creative and diverse conversation. All we grow is grown under the same sky and all we process ends up in the same place – on the plate.
This is not taking away from the spirit of competition which is the one entity the industry is short of. We do not have enough buyers to compete on price at the farm gate or competitors to compete for the shelf to give consumers true brand choice and buying power. The lack of competition in the food retail sector can be in part from the lack of collaboration that we could employ and the power we could have when working collectively. We have to ask for and vote for leadership that sees the bigger picture and no longer has a victim mindset. Leaders that bring Canadian agriculture and agri-food to the table to collaborate on domestic and international strategies.
Leadership
Can it be done? The strength of the National Index on Agri-food Performance now has over 165 partners from across the entire Canadian food chain with one united purpose which is to measure and track the sustainability of Canada’s agriculture and food system. This gives us the data we need in Canada for agricultural and food policy and also positions Canada as an elite and accountable trading partner. If the collaborative model works here – it can work on other farm and food opportunities.
Society is ready to be led. Who will step up to that challenge?
The alignment of values can be the points of intersectionality, those areas of agreement and mutual interest – to be shared in agriculture. If a shared purpose is to feed our families, our communities, our nation, and the world (in that order) then we have a starting point. If collectively we agree that all levels we need consistent enabling cross-ministry policy, we have moved to the first square on the board. And so it goes, the exercise is to step back, think, invite, and turn off the electric fence that keeps our fellow farmers and food processors from being at the table.
The problem is internal – not external. By focusing on what other parts of the whole are or are not doing, we waste valuable time and energy. The question in leadership is: What are we accountable/responsible for? Only then can we shift in our dialogue from taking positions to mapping out a future for agriculture and agri-food.
@Brenda Lee Schoepp (2026)