ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with global agricultural policy changes may lead to significantly increased instability of world market prices in the future. It examines the possibility of some system of international stocks management as one possible approach. One possibility may be the curative rather than preventative approach of Canadian-style farm income stabilization measures applied at the national level. The chapter provides an overview of the history of federal stabilization programs in Canada. It discusses the evidence for the success of these programs as economic stabilizers is briefly reviewed and major problems encountered and lessons learned. The chapter focuses on prospects for Canadian stabilization programs in the future, and summarizes the major evolutionary trends. It explains material in the 1990 Reports to Ministers of Agriculture of the Grains and Oilseeds Safety Net Committee and the Federal-Provincial Safety Net Committee as well as other sources.
