Agrifood concerns received considerable attention in a report from the Commons finance committee on what groups across the country would like to see in the 2018 federal budget.The annual exercise always generates plenty of advice for the finance minister to balance against what federal officials and economic advisers are telling him.Then there's always the calculation of what government can afford to spend given the state of the economy and the Liberals' promise to balance the budget. It usually comes in the spring and the 2017 version delivered on a number of agrifood concerns and set the goal of $75 billion in agrifood exports by 2025.Its report, which included nearly 100 recommendations on a wide range of public issues, will serve as a handy check list for agrifood groups when the budget is delivered next year.The committee called for the creation of an interdepartmental advisory council composed of the Employment, Citizenship and Agriculture departments as well as Service Canada “to support improved labour availability for the agrifood sector.”As well, the government should introduce “a trusted employer program that would expedite the hiring process for qualified employers that have maintained good standing with the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program.” The government should improve the efficiency of the Temporary Foreign Worker program to help businesses deal with labour shortages.Another recommendation urges the government to support research that would make Canada “the world's leading producer of artificial intelligence in the agrifood sector.” The committee also pointed out a number of proposals from the Agriculture Institute of Canada (AIC) to increase the effectiveness and returns from agrifood research.The government should pursue bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements “that address non-tariff trade barriers, ensure access to new markets for Canadian agricultural products, and ensure science-based regulatory standards.”It also said the government should create a Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act-like trust in Canada. This action would assist fruit and vegetable growers exporting to the United States and has been promised by successive governments that haven't managed to do anything much on the issue.The committee also called on Ottawa to support the agricultural research and innovation sector by providing long-term and predictable core investments to further encourage educational partnerships and private sector funding.To defuse the tensions between the food industry and Health Canada over its proposed Healthy Eating Strategy, “the government should undertake consumer research and consultations with industry and stakeholders prior to determining the optimal approach to food labelling. The government should consider the labelling options of Canada's major North American and European trading partners.”The committee also highlighted a proposal “by the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) proposed to stimulate demand for fresh fruits and vegetables by setting a goal of increasing consumption by 20 per cent during the next five years.”The CPMA also called for “better consumer protection and clear processes for industry in such areas as traceability and licensing could be achieved through greater support for cost recovery by industry.”The National Cattle Feeders' Association said persistent and critical shortage of labour in the sector requires action to ensure the sector “has ready access to the labour it needs to grow and remain competitive.”The committee said the agrifood sector employs 45,000 temporary foreign workers annually and that “the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program remain an identifiable and standalone program.” Both it and the SAWP “should support a pathway to permanent residency for farm and food workers.”AIC CEO Serge Buy noted that enhanced research and innovation is crucial to the growth the agrifood sector as proposed by the Barton Report in 2016. The government needs to collaborate with that sector in the form “of long-term and predictable core investments in agricultural research and innovation, renewal and expansion of Canada's agricultural innovation infrastructure, and a comprehensive human capital strategy that involves the identification of specific skill requirements, among other elements.”The AIC also called for a Wine Industry Innovation Program to help develop the grape wine industry in Canada.The Association of Canadian Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine also said funding for fundamental and agrifood research needs to be a priority for all federal funding agencies. The Enterprise Machine Intelligence & Learning Initiative supported an investment of $255 million to serve as an accelerator for agriculture artificial intelligence innovation. It also said “Canada is missing out on annual payments in terms of patent licensing and royalties and requested that problems with Canada's weak agricultural patent filing be addressed.”The committee noted that the AIC urged support for integrating “knowledge transfer activities into federal programming that supports adoption of innovations. It also explained that a comprehensive agricultural intellectual property strategy is needed to enable the adoption of marketable innovations resulting from agricultural research projects.”Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.