Reference no: EM133274702

Agricultural producers in Canada are valued as essential parts of rural communities, they contribute significantly to the economics of our country, and their land management practices can have positive effects for environmental sustainability. But at the same time, agricultural producers are under increasing economic pressure from liberalized local and global commodity markets. Market liberalization is meant to maximize society's welfare as a whole, giving more competitive producers an edge over less competitive ones and reducing consumer prices overall. However, for many agricultural producers market liberalization also means decreasing profit margins, increasing financial uncertainty, and the need to supplement insufficient farm income with employment off-farm. Rural communities change under the effect of these processes and pressure on the natural environment may increase.

Using your own research, in addition to the materials covered in the lectures and the required readings (weeks 1-3 and weeks 4-5), discuss how the agricultural production sector in Canada has evolved under the effects of increased market liberalization. How have agricultural producers responded to the increasing pressures and what is happening with agricultural producers that have not (or: that have less) responded? What are consequences of these changes to our social and natural environments? What realistic approaches could be applied to minimize the most negative changes to our social and natural environments?