The Canadian Government will invest in the nation’s poultry, egg and dairy supply management sectors to offset the impact of market losses from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and Canada-European unio Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Last August, Canada Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau announced a C$1.75bn financial support package to compensate Canadian dairy farmers over eight years.

During December 2019 and January 2020, more than 10,000 dairy farmers are said to have received a cash payment of C$345m.

The government is said to have prepared a schedule to release the remaining C$1.405bn through direct payments to farmers over a timeline of only three years.

As part of the initiative, the government has also announced C$691m ($531m) for ten-year programmes for Canada’s chicken, egg, broiler hatching egg, and turkey farmers.

The move, which will see the initiation of investment programmes and market development strategies, has been welcomed by Canada’s 4,700 egg and poultry farmers.

According to the Egg Farmers of Canada, the farmers have lost a significant portion of their domestic market and incurred billions in net operating income due to CPTPP, which was implemented in December 2018.

In addition to Egg Farmers of Canada, the decision has been welcomed by Chicken Farmers of Canada, Turkey Farmers of Canada and Canadian Hatching Egg Producers.

The Canadian Government anticipates that its new measures will help farmers to plan for the future and navigate the unique dynamics of respective industries while supporting the country’s goals of growing its agricultural sector.

Additionally, the government said that it is committed to offering full and fair compensation for the sectors impacted by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Bibeau said: “Our government is fully behind our supply management sector, which supports our family farms and the vitality of our rural areas.

“Today’s announcement of a substantial compensation package for our dairy, poultry and egg farmers shows our support for a strong supply management sector for many generations to come.”