Empowering Young Farmers: Basic Income for Sustainable Futures

1. How Basic Income can help sustain young farmers, increase rural equality, and fight climate change Aric McBay for the National Farmers Union NABIG 2018

2. About the National Farmers Union • Founded in 1969 nationally, and 1952 in Ontario. • Farmer-led, but “associate member” inclusive. • Grassroots and democratic; in Ontario rooted in Locals. • History of victories in farm policy (e.g., supply management), as well as broader policy (e.g., bovine growth hormone, neonic restrictions). • Historically has emphasized sustainability, food justice, health and food security, success of rural communities, status of women in organization. • Has endorsed Basic Income.

3. National Farmers Union Activities • Policy and Research • Training and Small-Scale Infrastructure • Community Organizing • Solidarity and Social Justice • Protest and Resistance

4. Farming Challenges

5. Aging Farm Population • Average age of farmers in Canada is 55 and increasing. • 92% of farmers have no written succession plan. • Three-quarters of farmers plan to retire in the next ten years, and most of them have no one to take over their farms. • We are at risk of losing most of our farmers and farming skills over the next 15-20 years. • There are major barriers to new farmers.

6. Farm Income Crisis • Gross Farm Income rises; Net Farm Income stagnates. • Farm debt now at record levels (over $90 billion).

7. Access to Land • The biggest single cost for new farmers across most of Canada is the rising price of farmland. • The price of farmland in Saskatchewan doubled between 2005 and 2010. • In Ontario an acre of land costs more than $10,000.

8. Overlapping barriers: • Mental Health: Farmers in Canada have higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression than the Canadian average. • Gender Equality: Female farmers have average lower incomes, and also face exclusion from “old boys networks”. • Corporate Consolidation and control of the food system. • Loss of Rural Infrastructure and Services. • Climate Change and Extreme Weather: Worsening climate change makes farming more precarious. • Urban People & New Canadians: Those who wish to farm lack access.

9. The effects: • A vicious cycle of low rural incomes, aging farm populations, rural depopulation, and inequality. • Worsening corporate control of the food system, and corporate land grabs. (Speculation drives up price of farmland.) • Acceleration of climate changeas smaller and more sustainable farmers are displaced by large corporate farms which must get higher short-term yields at the cost of soil carbon, water integrity, and biodiversity.

10. Part of the Answer:An Income Supplement for Farmers

11. What would income support for farmers do? • Make farming more accessible for young people and reverse the trend of aging farmers. • Create income stability so farmers can invest in infrastructure, improve their production equipment and practices, and make more ecological improvements to their farms. • Make it easier for young and new farmers to take on the risk of farmland ownership, and slow the rate at which farmland is bought by foreign investors. • Encourage cash to circulate in the rural economy (farmers spend locally).

12. Positive Impacts across Multiple Domains • An Income Stability Supplement for farmers would address the mandate of several Federal Ministers: • Agriculture and Agri-Food: Improve safety nets in the face of climate change, rising costs, and changing international trade agreements. • Employment, Workforce Development and Labour: Help to correct gender inequality and barriers to women. • Families, Children and Social Development: Poverty reduction. • Environment and Climate Change: Fight climate change by improved practices and farm infrastructure.

13. Pilot Project Proposal • We suggest that the target participants should be new farmers, specifically those who have been farming for 2-10 years. • We suggest a target of approximately 250 participants to receive payments, alongside an additional control group. • We suggest the pilot project take place in four regions across Canada: British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island.

14. Budget and Payment Amounts • Our total proposed budget for pilot project is $20 million. • This includes $8 million for project development and design, administration, outreach, data gathering, analysis. We would allocate $12 million for direct payments, • We suggest paying a base amount at 90% of the Low Income Cut-Off, less 50% of any net farm income from the market. • The Low Income Cut-Off for a single person in 2017 was $24,600.

15. Examples: • If the farmer’s net income for a year was zero dollars or a loss, they would receive an Income Stability Supplement of $22,140. • If the farmer’s net income was $20,000, their payment would be $12,140. • If the farmers net income is $30,000, their payment would be $7,140. • If the farmer made $44,280 or more they would receive no payment.

16. Metrics and Desired Outcomes • Income stability. • Strength of social safety net in rural areas. • Vitality of rural economies. • Rural job creation. • Health and wellbeing of farmers (and rural people). • Farm success and sustainability. • Business plan creation and implementation. • Gender equality and representation of women in farming. • Representation of racialized people and new Canadians in farming. • Farm infrastructure improvements (vs. debt or lack of maintenance).

17. Farming as a Public Service

18. Benefits of Basic Income for all farmers • Especially beneficially for new / young farmers. • Would also benefit aging farmers, most of whom have no pensions or retirement savings beyond their farms. • This would reduce pressure on older farmers to sell their land, limit skyrocketing land prices, and smooth farm succession. • Would also have many other recognized benefits for rural people including improved health incomes, improved gender equality, and the slow rural depopulation and service cuts.

19. Want to collaborate? Become a Local Food Advocate www.nfuontario.ca membership@nfuontario.ca