Abstract
Canada’s Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) is a voluntary, self-administered education and risk assessment tool that assists farmers in developing customized action plans to address environmental risks on their farms. During 2010-11 a study was undertaken in Ontario to evaluate the level of implementation of the EFP, the use of related services and resources, and social factors influencing implementation and services used. A confidential survey of 189 Ontario farmers with EFPs revealed high levels of implementation and significant investments of time and money to reduce environmental risks and improve environmental conditions. Farmers completed or were implementing 67.5% (median) of their action plans, up from 55% reported in a survey in 1999. Farmers invested an average of C$69,600 per farm in agri-environmental activities (of which 73% was drawn from their own funds) and spent 130 hours of their time per farm. Percent implemented, time and cost are all much higher compared to the survey in 1999. Farmers used many existing services in preparing and implementing their EFPs. In 2010, social factors significantly influenced motivation, preferences and service needs including education, age and main commodity produced. Also in 2010, 95% percent of farmers reported perceived environmental improvements on their farm operations. The results emphasize the importance of combining risk assessment, education and financial incentives as well as offering a range of program services to appeal to the varied needs of different farmers.
Highlights
Canada’s Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) Program is a long-term partnership between farm organizations and the Canadian federal and Ontario and other provincial governments based on a voluntary, self-administered educational and risk assessment approach (Ontario Farm Environment Coalition, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada & Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, 2013; Summers, Plummer, & FitzGibbon, 2008; Plummer, Speirs, A., Summers, R. & FitzGibbon, 2007; Robinson, 2006a, b)
The EFP began as a proposal from farm organizations in 1992 (Ontario Farm Ontario Farm Environment Coalition, 1992) and was developed through a consensus-based process supported by the Canadian and Ontario governments (Smith, 2015; Robinson, 2006a, b)
The EFP Program is a primary vehicle for agri-environmental stewardship in Canada, enjoys high levels of participation and acceptance (Smith, 2015) and wide adoption across Canada (Statistics Canada, 2013, 2019; Clearwater, Martin, & Hoppe, 2016; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2009)
Summary
Canada’s Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) Program is a long-term partnership between farm organizations and the Canadian federal and Ontario and other provincial governments based on a voluntary, self-administered educational and risk assessment approach (Ontario Farm Environment Coalition, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada & Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, 2013; Summers, Plummer, & FitzGibbon, 2008; Plummer, Speirs, A., Summers, R. & FitzGibbon, 2007; Robinson, 2006a, b). Canada’s Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) Program is a long-term partnership between farm organizations and the Canadian federal and Ontario and other provincial governments based on a voluntary, self-administered educational and risk assessment approach The EFP is similar to many agri-environmental planning tools in other jurisdictions (Robinson, 2006a, b), the collaborative government-farm organization partnership model has unique aspects (Morrison and FitzGibbon, 2014). As the EFP became popular and successful, research focused on effectiveness and accessibility (Morrison and FitzGibbon, 2014; Yiridoe, Atari, D., Gordon, & Smale, 2010; Robinson, 2006a, b; Smithers and Furman, 2003)
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