Oilseed producers call for practical solutions to global food and energy challenges Resolution of the International Oilseed Producers Dialogue XXVIII The dialogue highlights the need for science-based regulations, open trade, and policies that support sustainable food, feed, and fuel production. 20 Grain Farmers of Ontario and the Canadian Canola Growers Association co-hosted the 2026 International Oilseed Producers Dialogue (IOPD) in Niagara Falls, Ontario, this past June. The IOPD is an annual global forum where representatives from major oilseed-producing nations, including Canada, the United States, Brazil, Australia, and European countries, gather to address the agricultural industry's most pressing challenges. Despite being competitors, these national farmer associations collaborate to find shared solutions for universal issues such as extreme weather, fluctuating fertilizer costs, and pest management. The IOPD advocates for science-based regulations, open borders, and fair trade practices. The formal resolutions established at these meetings serve as key benchmarks for national governments and international bodies like the World Trade Organization when drafting trade laws and agricultural policies. The following is the resolution from the International Oilseed Producers Dialogue XXVIII, released on August 25, 2026: Members of the International Oilseed Producers Dialogue (IOPD) XXVIII collectively represent more than one million oilseed farmers growing over 70 per cent of the world’s soybeans and 40 per cent of global canola/ rapeseed production. They are responsible for over 75 per cent of the global exports of canola/rapeseed and up to 90 per cent of world soybean exports. Members of IOPD XXVIII call on decision-makers to promote greater dialogue and more unity when considering solutions to the world’s energy (food, feed and fuel) security challenges. The world’s oilseed producers are ready to step up and co-create a more healthy, sustainable, and economically prosperous world. To achieve these shared goals, we need practical solutions that acknowledge our shared priorities: 1. That realistic regulations, which are based on science and risk, recognize local conditions and acknowledge trade-offs are vital to efficient and sustainable food production. 2. That regulations should enable innovation and provide access to reasonably priced critical crop inputs that support food systems, making them more efficient, resilient, and sustainable in the face of global challenges such as rising food prices. This should recognize that there are diverse environments, climates and resource conditions around the world and farmers use the best technologies available. Sustainability metrics should be based on outcomes rather than practices, and consider the regional differences and unique growing conditions across production systems. 3. That predictable market access and clear rules are essential to achieving food security through supporting open trade, with adherence to multilateral rules-based trading systems. We call on governments around the world to ensure fair trade free from tariff and non-tariff barriers for the oilseeds we grow, and the critical inputs oilseed farmers need to produce food, feed, and fuel. 4. That policies recognize biofuels derived from oilseeds as an essential tool for global decarbonization, promoting low-carbon and low-emissions renewable energy, strengthening energy security without compromising economic productivity and food or feed supplies. To mobilize biomass potential, policy frameworks should be grounded in sound science rather than unproven theoretical models, with clear, practical compliance processes introduced to combat fraudulent feedstocks. 5. That our food systems support the role that vegetable proteins and oils play in human and animal diets as they help to combat nutritional deficiencies and promote human health. 6. That sustainability policies recognize the essential social contribution of oilseed ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER MARKET DEVELOPMENT
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