The Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Gudie Hutchings, Member of Parliament for Long Range Mountains, on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agrifood, announced details of programming under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership today to support growth in the agriculture and agrifoods sector in Newfoundland and Labrador.
They were joined by the Honourable Gerry Byrne, provincial Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources, and Merv Wiseman, President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture, for the announcement of $37 million over five years to support industry development ($22.2 million federal and $14.8 million provincial). See the backgrounder below for more details.
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a $3 billion, five-year investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to help Canada’s agricultural sector innovate, grow and prosper.
While in Reidville to announce the partnership details, Premier Ball and Minister Byrne toured the site of the province’s first large-scale agricultural land development pilot. The project was developed from the Provincial Government’s request for proposals to lease property for commercial fruit and vegetable production. Robbie and Chantille Coles were successful in securing 71.66 acres located on Rocky Brook Road in Reidville.
This land development initiative and the Canadian Agricultural Partnership support targets set out in the Provincial Government’s Way Forward and Agriculture Sector Work Plan, released in October 2017 to pursue opportunities and remove barriers in support of agricultural growth.
The Agriculture Sector Work Plan identified specific action items to achieve targets for agricultural growth, namely, to increase Newfoundland and Labrador’s food self-sufficiency to at least 20 per cent by 2022, increase secondary processing of food products, and generate employment within the agriculture industry.
The initiatives announced today deliver on commitments in The Way Forward to strengthen the province’s economic foundation. The Way Forward outlines all actions the Provincial Government is taking to achieve a strong, diversified province with a high standard of living, and can be viewed at thewayforward.gov.nl.ca.
Source : Government of Newfoundland & Labrador Canada