WHEREAS agriculture is a major economic driving force in the province of Alberta;AND WHEREAS farmgate prices for many agricultural commodities are decreasing while input costs are spiraling upwards;AND WHEREAS the Peace River Country, as well as many other parts of Alberta, have been plagued by four years of severely adverse weather conditions, increasing weed and pest problems, coupled with a decreased market value causing the majority of farmers to have negative margins;AND WHEREAS the current support programs, that is NISA and FIDP and crop insurance, are not effective;AND WHEREAS agricultural producers have been sacrificed on the altar of deficit reduction by the federal government, with the GATT agreement cited as the reason for the reduction/elimination of subsidies, while our competitors (Europe and USA) have not reduced subsidies as drastically, leaving our farmers to compete with foreign governments’ treasuries;AND WHEREAS our rural communities have always been supportive of elimination of our provincial debt and living within our means, but now find themselves falling even further behind other sectors in the province;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to acknowledge the crisis facing agriculture and rural communities in Alberta; immediately make cash available to farmers either through an acreage payment, removing the Negative Margin block in FIDP, or low interest loans through Agriculture Financial Services (with interest rates tied to commodity prices); and work with the federal government, farmers and farm agencies to come up with a long-term strategy for effective crop insurance/income insurance programs.