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Risk management in Canada's agricultural sector in light of COVID‐19
Author(s) -
Ker Alan P.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
canadian journal of agricultural economics/revue canadienne d'agroeconomie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.505
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1744-7976
pISSN - 0008-3976
DOI - 10.1111/cjag.12232
Subject(s) - agriculture , government (linguistics) , agribusiness , pandemic , business , covid-19 , risk management , economic growth , political science , economic policy , economics , finance , geography , medicine , philosophy , linguistics , disease , archaeology , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Abstract The unexpected introduction and spread of COVID‐19 has presented significant challenges for every aspect of Canadian society. Although the food and agricultural sector is positioned better than most, there are many risks that will need to be managed in the coming months. The suite of Federal‐Provincial‐Territorial Business Risk Management (BRM) programs delivered under the Canadian Agricultural Policy framework are meant to assist farmers in managing risks; however, there are no corresponding specialized programs for agribusinesses. The underlying structure of the BRM program was developed decades ago and certainly not with any thought to the possibility of a global pandemic. This article considers to what extent the BRM program and, more broadly, government programming will assist farmers in managing new risks. By default, the article is speculative in nature given that we are currently at the onset of the pandemic in Canada.