About the evaluation
- The Office of Audit and Evaluation at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) conducted an evaluation of the Farm Debt Mediation Service (FDMS) to assess the relevance, design and delivery, and efficiency and effectiveness of the program.
- The evaluation assessed FDMS activities between 2021-2022 and 2024-2025 using multiple methods: a document, literature and file review; key informant interviews; primary and secondary data analysis; and an efficiency analysis.
FDMS summary
- The FDMS is a legislated service which offers free financial support to farms who are insolvent or at risk of financial difficulty by providing financial consultation and mediation services.
- The program is coordinated and administered by AAFC and is delivered regionally by contracted financial experts and mediators.
- Between 2021-2022 and 2024-2025, expenditures for the FDMS totalled $10.7 million, with the majority of spending allocated to contractors ($6.3 million).
What we found
Relevance
- FDMS responds to a gap in the Canadian agricultural sector for accessible farm debt consultation and mediation through the use of contractors with specific agricultural expertise.
Design and delivery
- FDMS's standing offer model is a design strength, enabling the program to quickly respond to farmer needs and reestablish farmer-creditor communication.
- Limited outreach with established farmer and creditor networks resulted in low program awareness amongst farmers at risk of financial difficulties.
- Program expenditures exceeded allocated budget year over year, driven mainly by professional service and travel expenditures, which represent more than half of the program's budget.
Efficiency
- Program efficiency improved through a combination of consolidating FDMS's management team and streamlining the case management process.
- Bottlenecks in the client journey limited the program's ability to respond to periods of increased demand due to a disconnected case management system and limited automation.
Effectiveness
- The FDMS met most of its intended outcomes by temporarily protecting farmer assets, helping farmers and creditors gain a greater understanding of the financial situation and improving farm viability through mediated agreements.
Recommendations
- Recommendation 1: The Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of Programs Branch, in consultation with Public Affairs Branch, should develop a FDMS promotional strategy which includes national producer associations and key financial organizations to improve program awareness amongst Canadian farmers.
- Recommendation 2: The ADM of Programs Branch, in consultation with Information Systems Branch, should seek opportunities for low cost but meaningful improvements to FDMS data systems.
- Recommendation 3: The ADM of Programs Branch and ADM Corporate Management Branch should review and implement an approach that addresses the financial sustainability of the FDMS.
Management response
Management agrees with the evaluation recommendations and has developed an action plan to address them by September 2026.