The name on the executive director’s door at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is temporary no more.
Scott Ross was serving as the acting executive director and director of business risk management and farm policy. This week, the organization made the executive director role permanent.
One of the reasons he took the job was the overlap between his vision for agriculture, and the CFA’s vision for agriculture.
“The way we as a sector speak with governments, and with the public, aligns very closely with the CFA mandate and vision around speaking with on unified voice, and really promoting collective action wherever we can. There are so many areas in Canadian agriculture where we really share perspectives and have a common voice,” explains Ross, adding the importance of not focusing on the small differences that often divide us.
“At a high level, I really am excited at the prospect of being able to lead an organization that is so focused on bringing people together around a collaborative voice for the sector.”
From the CFA perspective, Ross says looking at the very short term, all eyes are focused on the federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) meetings happening at Saskatoon, Sask. He says both the CFA and CFA members say funding for the next policy framework is going to be key.
“What needs to happen with the next policy framework is that the sort of range of tools and supports needed to work together on meeting those ambitions requires a larger funding envelope,” says Ross. “I think priority number one is ensuring that we see that shared ambition reflected in the funding agreement that’s attributed to the next policy framework.”
Apart from funding, there’s a few other things the CFA is hoping will be addressed in the meetings, including the focus on climate from different perspectives; including not losing sight of the near term focus on climate.
“There’s the long-term climate mitigation, and ensuring there’s dedicated programming invested in supporting producers and adopting environmental best management practices, but at the same time, not losing sight of the near term focus on climate risk management — risk management in general — and that we’re not conflating those two issues,” Ross explains.
Check out the full conversation with Ross, and RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney, below:
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