OHSWEKEN, Ontario – Acting as a co-op while permitting its members to maintain their own individuality, the First Nations Agrigroup of southern Ontario is creating a better political and financial environment for farmers.
Started in 1998 on the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ohsweken, the mandate of Agrigroup is to develop long-term availability of agricultural land and to promote good land stewardship. Its 32 members, two dozen from the Six Nations reserve, operate their own lands totaling 20,000 acres (32 sq. miles), yet, by joining together, they have also been able to reap some economic benefits in what is likely the first Aboriginal farming co-op on the continent.
Whereas other agricultural communal efforts off-reserve have their purpose regarding money and pooling resources, Agrigroup is designed towards meeting the specific needs of Native farmers. Chairman Barry Hill, who has one of the larger properties covering 2,500 acres, says this organization provides a voice for the farmers who until recently didn’t have one.
Native farmers have struggled for almost a half-century when the country’s laws and the trends of the industry left them behind. In the 1950s and ’60s mixed farms (animals and crops) became outdated as specialization and big farming, with intensive capital layout, became commonplace.
Yet, First Nations farmers were kept out of the loop because they weren’t able to obtain the financial support to improve and increase their properties. According to the Indian Act, there is no equity or value placed upon tribal lands outside of the reserve.
“That’s always been a roadblock to community development because commercial banks are not able to get security when lending to a Native,” Hill said.
As a result, Six Nations properties became vacant and untilled as farmers traded in their equipment to work off the reserve. In leaving the land, Hill states, these farmers were also leaving behind a cultural heritage in which previous generations were self-sufficient being vegetable and grain growers.
Although the Indian Agricultural Program of Ontario was founded in 1984 to encourage and assist Natives in acquiring loans and to prevent non-Natives from seizing any property on reserve, Agrigroup seeks to improve the financial and political status of Aboriginal farmers.
“Most of us rent land from non-farming families who own property (but) around here we have no clout and no respect,” Hill said.
Part of the lack of respect, according to Hill, is the misunderstanding of how farmers operate. With a heightened awareness of how land and water is used and maintained, all agriculturalists are under the scrutiny of the public.
Off the reserve, land is specifically zoned for agricultural use and with that designation, there are by-laws regarding what can be produced, how waste is disposed and the severance (selling or piecing off) of the land. These restrictions permit both farmers and the community-at-large an awareness of how the property is cared for and piece of mind regarding proper environmental practices.
When it comes to farming on the reservation however, there aren’t those laws or guidelines. Though that allows for more freedom, it can also breed abuse and create suspicion by the non-farmers. That’s why Agrigroup is actually looking for more structure as to how First Nations land should be governed.
“Many of us have substantial investments in our equipment but we have no guidelines when it comes to land use on the reserve,” said Hill about the absence of zoning and drainage rules. “We feel that if we keep up with provincial standards and best (environmental) practices, we can allay any criticism from those who are non-farmers.”
In gaining recognition from the public, Agrigroup has, like other co-ops, earned rewards for its membership using the principle of strength in numbers. Hill calculates that on average, each farmer has saved over $500 per year during the previous three years in the costs of purchasing fertilizer based on bulk purchases direct from manufacturers. Certainly not a bad return on investment when membership costs only $40 with dues used to offset office expenses.
“By forming the organization as an entity of farmers doing our own business, it gives us the ability to access other funding sources,” Hill said.
There are larger projects Agrigroup is sponsoring and proposing, both presently and those in the future. Under the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, farmers are taking turns maintaining a demonstration farm studying crop rotations and their fertility with grant money available for their efforts.
At Six Nations, the primary crop is soybean and Agrigroup is involved with an initiative, coordinated out of the University of Guelph, called Soy 2020, designed to increase the production and consumption of the bean. Well-documented within health circles about the benefits of soy, Hill mentions that within First Nations there are a disproportionate number of people who are lactose intolerant and soy acts as a nutritious substitute for milk.
Because many soy foods are imported into Canada, Hill sees Agrigroup as having an opportunity to increase the value of its soy by becoming the processor, producer and distributor of the crop.
“By adding a small amount of soy flour, it helps in the bleaching process and removes the need to add artificial whitening and it also retains moisture, keeping the bread fresher.”
In addition to obtaining better prices when purchasing products, Hill says Agrigroup is also in the infant stages of creating an Aboriginal food partnership with other reserves and tribes through trade and exchange. Recently trading with a band on Manitoulin Island, where there are no cash crops, calves were obtained where they could grow on the more spacious farms in the south.
“This ultimately will create a foodbasket that would be good for our people,” Hill said about this vertical integration within Native agriculture.