Government has not found a way to directly reimburse producers. Ottawa—The $34 million in tariffs that farmers in Central and Eastern Canada paid on Russian fertilizer in the spring should be reimbursed directly to them, five farm groups say. The tariffs collected from farmers should not be a cost borne by them as part of growing food, said the Ontario Bean Growers, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Atlantic Grains Council and Grain Growers of Quebec. “Farmers can provide information on the tariff monies they paid and can be reimbursed directly,” the groups said in a statement. “We have been working as a coalition for many months to raise awareness of the challenges Canada's decision to impose tariffs on Russian fertilizer imports has created for Canadian farmers. “As a group, we have met with dozens of MPs and decision-makers in cabinet minister's offices and the public service.” Farmers stand with the people of Ukraine so “Canada is the only G7 nation asking its farmers to pay for tariff retaliation that doesn't hurt Russia. “The UN is asking countries not to impose barriers to fertilizer trade to avert a global food crisis, yet Canada—a global grain superpower the world needs in a time of crisis – made its farmers pay a significant tariff, which they continue to pay.” The groups said they “await the government's plan to reimburse farmers directly for the tariff money paid on fertilizer.” Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau provided at least part of an answer to their request during a meeting of the Commons agriculture committee. A direct rebate is not a simple matter, which is why the government “has already rebated a substantial amount to the industry by making improvements to the Advance Payments Program, which increased the interest-free portion from $100,000 to $250,000. “We estimate that over two years, at the present interest rate, approximately $69 million will be repaid to agricultural producers. I know that is not exactly a rebate to each individual and each business.” It is technically not possible to directly rebate every dollar that was paid. “We are currently studying other ways of helping producers, particularly those in eastern Canada, because they are the ones who are most affected by the tariff. We are currently weighing other options, and of course we are speaking with the Minister of Finance and the industry to see how it could be done, if we have resources to allocate to this.”