Federal and provincial agriculture ministers visit producers in Saskatchewan

WATCH: Federal and provincial officials met south of Regina to discuss challenges faced by Sask. farmers. Sierra D’Souza Butts reports.

Canada’s new agriculture minister visited key stakeholders in Saskatchewan to discuss international trading concerns.

“This could be a bit of history in the making, having a liberal minister here, a minister from Saskatchewan, a conservative, and having a senator,” Agriculture and Agri-foods Minister Heath MacDonald told CTV News. “All three of us at one farm on the same day, talking about the benefits and the economic benefits of agriculture across this country and how important it is to our economy.”

For the multi-day trip, MacDonald accompanied Saskatchewan’s Minister of Agriculture Daryl Harrison, Senator Todd Lewis, and other producers during a visit to a farm south of Regina.

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Aside from strengthening the federal and provincial working relationship, officials discussed key issues like trade and transportation, port infrastructure, regulatory issues and trade disputes with the U.S. and China.

“Those are things that we need to continue to work on, keep the lines of communication open, and see where the G7 takes us,” MacDonald explained, referring to the upcoming meeting of global leaders in Kananaskis, Alta.

Harrison said having the minister travel to the province to hear directly from farmers about ongoing concerns, speaks volume to, “his commitment to agriculture.”

He shared some of the main priorities that were discussed with the group.

“We’re talking about our business risk management programs for one. They are cost-shared with the federal government as well, that’s important. Then when it comes to trade, certainly China is a big topic as well as the U.S. Those are two of our largest trading partners and we want to make sure those relationships are ongoing,” Harrison said.

“Then the reliability of getting our products to tidewater is very key. You can’t mention agriculture without having the transportation and the ports because it all connects. Saskatchewan is a trading province and Canada is a trading nation. That’s just the key for the success of agriculture here in the province.”

Senator Lewis also pointed out the essential role Saskatchewan plays in Canada’s agriculture industry.

“It’s all about trade right now and where we’re going to be with the negotiations internationally, be it with the United States or Europe, [or] Saskatchewan agriculture, Canadian agriculture, experts around the world,” said Lewis.

“We need to be at the front end of any trade discussion. That’s where agriculture is and that’s where agriculture needs to be.”

With agriculture being the main economic driver in the province, Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) President Bill Prybylski said it’s critical to keep an open dialogue with federal officials.

“We know that agriculture in general across the country is somewhere around seven per cent of the GDP, which is a fairly significant contributor to the economy of the country,” he said.

“Here in Saskatchewan it’s even more so … the industry itself, we rely on trades, which is big for the country. Between agriculture and trade, there’s a lot of issues that need to be resolved," he added.

“We certainly look forward to working with the ministers to resolve some of those issues.”