G/AG/N/CAN/121  
 
29 May 2018  
(18-3201) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Agriculture  Original: English/French  
 
NOTIFICATION  
The following submission, dated  18 May 2018, is being ci rculated at the request of the d elegation 
of Canada . The notification concerns new or modified domestic support measures exempt from 
reduction ( Table DS:2 ). 
 
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Growing Forward 2 (GF2) is a five year (fiscal year 2013 -2018) policy framework for Canada's 
agriculture and agri -food sector that seeks to promote innovation; competitiveness and market 
development; and adaptability and industry capacity. It  represents a CAD 3 billion investment by 
federal, provincial and territorial governments and serves as the foundation for Canada's 
agricultural programmes and services. It  replaces the Growing Forward Agreement, which was in 
place from 2008/09 to 2012/13.  
GF2 includes a suite of business risk management (BRM) initiatives, such as AgriInvest, 
AgriStability, AgriInsurance, AgriRecovery and AgriRisk, and a wide range of other initiatives. 
GF2 dedicates CAD 1 billion in other federal -only programmes, namely AgriInnovation, 
AgriCompetitiveness and AgriMarketing and an additional CAD 2 billion for non -BRM cost -shared 
programmes (60% federal and 40% provincial/territorial). This ensures that provinces and 
territories can tailor programmes to suit their specific needs.  
The foll owing notification provides information on the AgriStability programme under GF2 which 
meets the policy specific criteria under Annex 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture.  
 
  G/AG/N/CAN/121  
 
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  Table DS:2  
DOMESTIC SUPPORT: CA NADA  
Notification under Article 18:3 of the Agreemen t: 
New or modified domestic support measures exempt from reduction  
_____________________________________________________________________________  
 
(1) FULL TITLE OF MEASUR E:  
AgriStability Program.  
(2) DOMESTIC LEGISLATION  REFERENCE:  
The Farm Income Protec tion Act, Section 4(1) (federal authority) and relevant provincial 
authorities.  
(3) DETAILED DESCRIPTION  OF MEASURE WITH REFE RENCE TO CRITERIA:  
AgriStability is a margin -based programme  that protects producers ' farm operations against 
large declines in farm income.  It succeeds the AgriStabilit y Program under Growing 
Forward  (G/AG/N/CAN/91) and operates in a similar manner but some parameters have 
changed.  
 
To be eligible to participate in AgriStability, producer s must have filed an income tax return, 
have been actively farming for at least six consecutive months, and have completed one 
production cycle during the programme year.  AgriStability operates on a whole -farm margin 
basis, i.e., based on the margin of all  commodities on the farm.  Payment s are triggered 
when a producer' s program me margin in the current year drops more than 30 % below their 
historical reference margin.  A producer 's program me margin is the difference between their 
allowable income minus expens es directly related to production (e.g., commodity purchases, 
seed, fertilizer, pesticides and veterinary  expenses). Adjustments are made for changes in 
receivables, payables and inventory. A producer 's reference margin is the average 
program me margin of t he preceding five years, excluding the highest year and the lowest 
year. Starting in the 2013 program me year, the reference margin may be subject to a limit.  
This limit is the lower of a producer 's historical reference margin or the average of allowable 
expenses reported in previous years.  
 
AgriStability conforms to the general criteria under Annex 2, paragraph 1.  The support is 
being provided through a publicly funded government programme  not involving transfers 
from consumers and does not have the effec t of providing price support to producers.  In 
addition, it meets the policy -specific criteria under Income Insurance and Income Safety -Net 
Programmes (Annex 2, paragraph 7).  Any producer is eligible for a payment when their 
current margin declines by more than 30 % in comparison to their Olympic average historic 
margin.  The amount of the payment is based on the loss of income (which is based on all 
activities of the farm); therefore, the amount of the payment is not related to the type or 
volume of productio n, or to the prices, domestic or international, applying to such a 
production nor is it related to the factors of production employed.  
(4) COST OF MEASURE:  
The cost will fluctuate depending on income declines of agricultural producers.  
(5) DATE OF ENTRY I NTO EFFECT:  
Stabilization Year 2013.  G/AG/N/CAN/121  
 
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  (6) PERIOD OF APPLICATIO N:  
The programme will be in place for the length of Growing Forward 2, a five y ear policy 
framework for Canada' s agriculture and agri -food sector  in place from fiscal year  2013-2018.  
(7) PRODUC TS TO PRINCIPALLY BE NEFIT (IF ANY INDIVI DUAL PRODUCT(S)):  
Any agricultural product.  
 
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