As part of this effort, Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (AAFC), joined Christian Schmidt, German Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, in Prince Edward Island to announce that Canada and Germany will work closer together in four areas of agricultural research:
- Sustainable agriculture and climate change, particularly in the areas of protecting soil and water and breeding crops that are more resistant to the effects of climate change;
- Agri-food, including crop breeding for nutrition and health and reducing food waste and loss;
- Sharing best management practices for knowledge and technology transfer to farmers and industry; and
- Personnel exchange, including exchanges of scientists and students between Canada and Germany to build on opportunities for collaboration.
“Canada's bilateral trade with Germany has grown considerably and we look forward to continuing this trend as new trade opportunities are always being created in Europe for Canadian agricultural exports,” MacAulay said. “Both countries share a deep commitment to agricultural research and science-based trade policies and this expansion of the already strong research cooperation we have with Germany will help accelerate innovation that drives sustainable economic growth.”
According to the AAFC, Germany has been a strong science partner with AAFC for over a decade, especially in the areas of crop development and animal health.
“Together with Canada, we want to extend research cooperation and, in this context, jointly focus on sustainable agriculture, prevention of food losses and waste of food and the interaction between agriculture and a healthy diet,” Schmidt said.
The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will give Canadian farmers, processors and exporters duty-free access to more than half a billion consumers across the E.U., the world’s largest import market for agriculture and agri-food. Canadian industry estimates CETA will provide additional exports for agricultural products of up to $1.5 billion per year.
Germany continues to be a significant trading partner for Canada and is growing in importance both as an export destination and as a source of imports. Canada’s agri-food exports to Germany in 2016 were C$321 million, which represents Canada’s eighth-largest export market.
