FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwired - Sept. 23, 2016) - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Member of Parliament for Tobique-Mactaquac, TJ Harvey on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced today an investment of over $400,000 to support the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA)'s efforts to introduce a new accounts receivable insurance tool.

CFA's two-year pilot project addresses a gap in the agriculture sector for individual transaction accounts receivable insurance. The insurance tool is designed to offer financial protection to farmers as they seek out new markets within Canada and abroad. The intent is to develop private sector delivered, accounts receivable insurance for up to twenty agricultural commodities in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with longer-term plans of expanding credit insurance across Canada to provide more certainty and ensure higher profitability.

Quick facts

• Accounts Receivable insurance is a widely-recognized insurance product that protects a business from an unforeseeable non-payment of commercial debt.
• The project has been funded under the Growing Forward 2, AgriRisk Initiatives (ARI) which supports the research, development and implementation of new risk management tools for use in the agriculture sector.
• Growing Forward 2 is a five-year (2013-2018) policy framework for Canada's agricultural and agri-food sector, representing a $3 billion dollar investment by federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) governments and it is the foundation for government agricultural programs and services.

Quotes

"The Government of Canada is committed to working with industry and the private sector to explore tools that contribute to a resilient agriculture sector. This investment will help give farmers the confidence of guaranteed payment, which encourages them to take advantage of new sales opportunities to gain higher returns for their commodities and increase their profitability."

• Member of Parliament for Tobique-Mactaquac, TJ Harvey

"The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is pleased to undertake this project to develop tools that will improve the understanding of potential risks in agriculture and support the development of insurance protection for farmers in cases where a buyer doesn't pay their bill. CFA will work with its associate member, Farmers of North America, to share the results of the project and extend these insurance offerings across Canada."

• Ron Bonnett, Canadian Federation of Agriculture President

Additional links

Growing Forward 2

AgriRisk Initiatives program

Canadian Federation of Agriculture

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