51: Farmer Associations Are Filling Canada's Lost Extension Gap with Marney Isaac
Summary:
Marney Isaac argues that Canada has an abundance of evidence for agro-biodiversity, soil health and agroforestry, but almost none of the extension, incentive or seed infrastructure needed to act on it. Drawing on transition research with millions of farmers in India, she shows that reducing agrochemicals can raise net farm income almost immediately — yet Canada's locked-in system of seed, fertilizer, machinery and commodity boards keeps farmers from moving. With public extension hollowed out, farmer associations like the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario are quietly becoming…
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