A newly announced partnership involving the provincial and federal governments aimed at supporting the agriculture industry is good news for producers in the district, says Mountain View County reeve Bruce Beattie.
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) replaces the existing Growing Forward 2 initiative.
“It’s certainly good to see from the perspective of agriculture, to see the investment and the continuation of those programs,” said Beattie.
“It’s good to see they are continuing on that long-term program. We don’t hear much about agriculture in the budget speeches, federally or provincially, so it’s nice to see it recognized.”
Unveiled last week, the five-year Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) will focus on increasing trade, expanding markets and supporting innovative and sustainable growth in the sector while creating jobs and strengthening the middle class, say officials.
More than $400 million has been earmarked for the partnership, which includes federal, provincial and territorial cost-shared strategic initiatives to “ensure programs are tailored to meet regional needs.
Alberta Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier called the partnership a win-win situation.
“This agreement marks our commitment to the future of Alberta’s diverse agricultural sector. Agriculture is the cornerstone of our province’s economy and our largest sustainable industry,” said Carlier.
“The investments made through this program will expand the capacity and efficiency of the sector, creating more jobs for Albertans and increasing our capacity to export our agri-food products to the world.”
The partnership was developed following a number of roundtable meetings with Alberta farmers, ranchers and representatives from the diverse agri-food and agri-processing sectors over the last few months, he said.
Succeeding the Growing Forward 2 program, the new partnership is a federal, provincial and territorial framework designed to strengthen the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products sector, ensuring continued innovation, growth and prosperity.
Goals of the new partnership will include growing trade and expanding markets, creating innovative and sustainable growth of the sector, and supporting diversity and a dynamic, evolving sector.
“The partnership will help Alberta’s farmers, ranchers and processors continue to meet the growing domestic and international demand for their high-quality, safe products,” said Lawrence MacAulay, federal minister of agriculture and agri-food.
“Collaboration has been at the heart of developing the partnership and we will continue to work together to help the sector innovate, grow and prosper.”
Francis Andres, president of Canada Beef, said his organization is “supportive of the goals identified under the Agricultural Policy Framework to grow Canadian agricultural exports to $75 billion by 2025.
“The Canadian beef industry is working hard to take advantage of agreements such as (the new partnership) to create new opportunities for growth through trade in international markets.”
Producers apply for funding under the program, being required to meet specific criteria.
“There are used for a lot of on-farm and environmental programs,” said Beattie. “I suspect that they will still require the environmental farm plan to be part of your farming operation before you are eligible. So it does encourage that aspect of an environmental responsible farming operation."
