Agriculture ministers’ Gerry Ritz and Verlyn Olson announced the official launch of the Growing Forward 2 policy framework for Canada’s agricultural and agri-food sector March 25.
Alberta’s official announcement was held at the Agrivalue Processing Business Incubator in Leduc. “One size does not fit all in agriculture,” said Minister Gerry Ritz to the large crowd at the event.
“It’s a hungry market out there… The great thing, is we’re not just hewers of wood and drawers of water, we’re not just shipping out bulk commodities anymore, we’re shipping out value-added product,” he said.
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“This is not a cookie-cutter program where everybody gets the same thing; it is very much tailored to Alberta’s needs,” said Alberta Agriculture Minister Verlyn Olson.
“It is certainly going to help our agri-food industry, so that’s our front-line producers. We’re working on finding them new markets. It is also going to help entrepreneurs who are going to want to add value… That’s very important for us in terms of diversifying our industry here in Alberta.”
Olson said producers and stakeholders were part of this agreement to make sure it was the best fit for Alberta’s agriculture industry. “I think people often forget about the fact that food production is essential to the health of any society, so this is important for all Albertans, not just the people who are directly involved,” he said.
Alberta’s producers and agri-food sector stand to gain from $406 million spread over more than 30 new or enhanced programs. The programs cover areas such as international market development, food safety, agribusiness innovation, research and environmental management.
Growing Forward 2 contains programs focusing on research and innovation, confined feeding operation stewardship, agricultural water enhancement, regional water supply, plant health and biosecurity, livestock welfare and pest surveillance. Funds have been used to develop an iPhone app that helps farmers locate lost cows, and has also funded an essential oils plant that supplies all the catnip and spearmint in North America.
Producers interested in Growing Forward programs can visit www.growingforward.alberta.ca.
