Opinion: Zhooniyaa Zaagigin – Agriculture and Economic Development
Submitted by the Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Department
When we talk about First Nations economies, the first things you may think of are natural resources, tourism, retail trade, and cultural services and supplies. In general, the topic may evoke feelings of pride and images of generational resilience and self-sufficiency; but it also may remind you of broken Treaty promises and being left out of big decisions by governments functioning on borrowed land. It is important to highlight where there’s room to address these pitfalls, whether it’s in pushing the government for First Nation consultation or creating further self-sufficiency and independence.
While organizations like the Anishinabek Nation push the government, there are Anishinaabe on the frontlines who are putting their livelihoods on the line, breaking away from a reliance on outside financiers, embarking on entrepreneurial endeavours, and challenging the transfer payment agreement paradigm; because since when has Treaty people meant needy people? It doesn’t nor has it ever; being able to provide for ourselves is paramount to mino bimaadiziwin and building our communities. Agriculture is one way – an increasingly important way – to unlock the door to self-sufficiency.
Nearing the one-year mark of living through a pandemic, there are many who have reconsidered the concept of self-sufficiency and resiliency. What if we looked back to our ties to the land – to our knowledge of and history with it – and establish an economic baseline? Agriculture is not the only means, nor is the historically preferred Indigenous method of, feeding a community; however, this means of sustenance has roots in Anishinaabe culture and is now central to most communities, whether they are growing themselves or importing farmed food.
Agriculture is also business; it can be a sustaining income stream, one that meets our basic needs, fosters self-sufficiency, and provides a strong business area for growth and opportunity. On a broader scale, agriculture provides employment opportunities (with limited education and/or experience required for entry); supports a number of offshoot industries; and, obviously, there is money to be made through sales, in both the food and non-food industries, and through taxation revenues. You can read more about this in an article shared on economicdiscussion.net, a website designed to foster discussion on economics.
Looking at most Nations, agriculture is a primary driver of their economy in some way. If we compare it to other industries, we should contemplate the longevity of it as an economic base.
When we consider natural resources, service/manufacturing industries, and retail, some parts of the production process take place outside of a community. In agriculture, production is tied to the land and, therefore, cannot be outsourced; the financial resources put into agriculture can remain within that same community fostering other supporting business services (supplies, machinery, fuels, human resources, etc.). Its primary target market can also be inward-focused, addressing food security and local economic stability, with secondary sources for sales targeted for surpluses and specific or specialty items to strengthen the community’s economy.
Impacts can move beyond providing more-sustainable food security and economies, to the preservation of land bases and supporting local habitats through responsible agriculture planning. Agri-planning (yes, you can put any word at the end of “agri”) and business development can take many forms. It can be focused on small business opportunities that can lend to single person/family incomes building resiliency in the local economy and financial and food security. Larger-scale partnerships, co-operatives, or commercial operations provide different opportunities and impacts to local economies. The various types of partnerships, including examples of the advantages and disadvantages of entering into them, can be found at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Canadian food and beverage market, which includes the sale of raw and packaged goods, has tripled since 2006 and is expected to grow consistently. Based on information from Statista.com, the estimated revenue base for 2021 is over $1.1 billion CDN, projected to increase to over $1.4 billion CDN by 2025. Along with the organic growth (no pun intended) tied to population, there’s a trend toward buying and eating local, organic, and/or artisanal goods, making agriculture a tremendous economic development opportunity.
Economic development is about strengthening our economy – the local economy and its financial gain endeavours of any scale— but also about strengthening our communities, fostering self-sustainability and health. By supporting agricultural development, we are targeting all of these components. We can combine our traditional practices and connections to the land with food, or look at new crops and applications. Either way, agriculture is a never-ending economy base and sustains us in more ways than one.
Here’s some further reading on the topic if you really want to dive into agricultural economic development, along with some history:
History of Indigenous Food Systems
Indian Agricultural Program of Ontario
Indigenous Environmental Network