It proposes 15 detailed steps to make BRM programs effective.Ottawa—The COVID-19 pandemic will have a catastrophic impact on farmers without a serious overhaul of Business Risk Management (BRM) programs, says MNP, a national accounting firm.Stuart Person, MNP's Senior Vice President, Agriculture, told the Commons agriculture committee farmers “face challenges at a historic scale, as these effects are compounded with existing agriculture risks.“Based on a preliminary assessment, a prolonged crisis could see short and medium projected losses into the hundreds of millions,” he said. It is critical government programs reflect the gravity of this situation.“Ensuring agrifood sufficient support “is crucial for Canada's social and economic well-being. Not only crucial for our own food security, the industry contributes billions to Canada's GDP and provides hundreds of thousands of jobs, many of which are at immediate risk.”The BRM programs need modifications “to support all agriculture sectors in the timeliest manner, and put simply, get the support to Canadian farmers right away as they face this crisis,” Peron said.While AgriStability is flexible enough to meet the needs of all farmers, urgent changes are needed to make it “more responsive and more effective to address the significant circumstances that arise when COVID-19 related factors compound upon ongoing farm risks.”To make Agri-Stability truly effective, he called for:--Removing the Reference Margin Limiting (RML) from the program to enhance equitability across all sectors;--Temporarily removing the $3 million cap on payments to safeguard as much domestic production as possible;--Increasing the funding percentage from 70 per cent to at least 80 per cent after the trigger point is reached;--Waiving the 2020 participation fee for all producers;--Allowing all producers to make interim 2020 applications immediately by waiving the existing six-month and production cycle requirement;--Removing any requirements that 2019 applications be filed prior to the processing of 2020 interim applications;--Significantly increasing the interim payment amounts from the current 50 per cent to at least 75 per cent with appropriate measures in place to mitigate any risk of overpayment;--Allowing those producers with completed 2020 year ends to submit final applications immediately by making the forms available right away;--Removing the concern of overpayments by allowing producers to repay any overpayments in a reasonable, 5-year interest free period;--Proving appropriate direction and resources to the federal and provincial BRM administrators;--Prioritizing the processing of 2019 and 2020 interim and final applications based on likelihood of payments;--Demonstrating trust in our producers by expediting program applications for those previously enrolled in the program;--Increasing processing capacity to handle the expected surge of applications and explore engaging trusted third parties to support.--In circumstances where industry sectors demonstrate that AgriStability will not be sufficient to stabilize their sector, considering the use of additional programs to compliment the AgriStability program;--Exploring the broadening the Agri-Recovery program and eligibility such that it can be more supportive in COVID-19 response and recovery with targeted, sector specific support over and above the Agri-Stability program.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.