Federal farm-loan boost not enough: Easter

The federal government's boosting of cash availablefor loans to support Canadian livestock farmers is not what the industry needs right now, says Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter.

'You can't borrow yourself out of debt.' — Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced Wednesday that $2.5 billion would go to variouslow-interest and interest-free loan programs. Just under $1 billion of that was new money. Producers could get up to $400,000 each, with the first $100,000 interest-free.

But Easter, the MP for theP.E.I. riding of Malpeque,said the package doesn't give farmers what they need most.

"What concerns me is that what it really is is more credit," he told CBC News on Thursday.

"It is really producers' own money that is involved here into the future, with the exception of the interest-free portion of $100,000, and I don't think that's adequate to do the job. You can't borrow yourself out of debt, but that seems to be what's proposed here."

The package is aimed at helping pork and cattle producers, who have been walloped by rising feed costs as well as plummeting exports due to the strong Canadian dollar.

The funds will flow through several programs: AgriStability, AgriInvest and theAdvance Payments Program (APP).