The NDP says that there needs to be more staff available at AFSC to address delays in getting crop insurance claims processed.
AFSC closed several rural offices including in High Prairie and Spirit River and NDP Agriculture Critic Heather Sweet says this has lead to concerns about adjusters not getting out to fields to assess crop damages.
“We’ve heard stories that even last season with the hail damage, farmers were waiting until February and March to get access to crop insurance, which is a huge problem. Farmers and ranchers try to plan their next crop as soon as possible. If they’re not getting their insurance compensation in time, it’s hard for them to know how much finances they’re going to have to be able to plan their next season.
Sweet was on the Trending 55 Hot Seat and says they want to see the rehiring of AFSC staff that were laid off in the past year.
“Lots of farmers are struggling with trying to make those decisions about whether or not they try to harvest or if they just let the crops go and they need to know that they’re going to have the supports of AFSC. We need those offices to be reopened, we need to get more adjusters into the fields and we need to make sure that farmers know what their options are and how quickly they can make those decisions when it comes to transitioning their crops and/or whether or not they’re going to harvest.”
You can hear our full discussion with Sweet below.
– Kyle Moore, Trending 55 Newsroom
