News Release

SCOTCH  LAKE (GNB) – New Brunswick producers will have access to new, innovative agriculture and agri-food programming thanks to a renewed federal-provincial agreement, Growing Forward 2, announced today.

“Growing Forward 2 represents a significant investment in this important sector of our economy,” said Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Minister Michael Olscamp. “The new programs are tailored to meet the needs of New Brunswick farmers and focus on innovation, competitiveness and market development.”

During the next five years, $37 million in federal and provincial funding will be invested in new and traditional programs covering research and innovation, market and business development and environmental stewardship.  

“This agreement is an important milestone in our government's continued efforts to deliver programs that work for farmers here in New Brunswick and across the country,” said Tobique-Mactaquac MP Mike Allen. “We will continue to work together to ensure that targeted investments in priority areas benefit the entire sector through increased productivity, jobs and economic growth.”

Allen attended the announcement on behalf of federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

The agreement is part of a nation-wide renewed commitment by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to ensure productivity and profitability for Canada's agricultural sector. With a focus on innovation, competitiveness, and market development, the programs are designed to help the industry position itself to respond to future opportunities and to realize its full potential as a significant contributor to the Canadian economy. Programs are also tailored with the flexibility to meet diverse regional requirements.

Nationally, the new five-year Growing Forward 2 agreement includes $2 billion for federal-provincial-territorial strategic initiatives, a 50 per cent increase in cost-shared funding, as well as $1 billion for federal-only strategic initiatives. The federal government has announced details of its three federal programs: AgriInnovation, AgriMarketing and AgriCompetitiveness.

Under the agreements, governments will continue to offer ongoing funding for a complete set of Business Risk Management programs to ensure farmers are protected against severe market volatility and unforeseen natural disasters.

More information on Growing Forward 2 is available online.

A complete list of Growing Forward 2 programs in New Brunswick is also available online.

Highlights of the Canada-New Brunswick bilateral agreement

Innovation:

Enabling Agricultural Research and Innovation: Encourages the growth, profitability and competitiveness of New Brunswick's agriculture, agri-food and agri-product sectors through innovative research and development; pre-commercialization and technology development; and on-farm innovation and technology adoption.

Environmentally Sustainable Agricultural Production: To assist producers and value-added food small and medium enterprises in taking concrete steps to improve the environmental performance of their operations, particularly in high-risk areas to meet increasing public good requirements for soil and water protection.

Advancing Agriculture: To help capture new opportunities for New Brunswick's crop and livestock sectors; encourage development of sectors that have identified growth opportunities; or to support activities that could add value to New Brunswick-grown crops or livestock through production of agriculture based bio-products.

Competitiveness and market development:

Market Development, Product Enhancement and Diversification: To support efforts to capture and/or expand new markets (local, domestic or export), to encourage and assist in the development and promotion of new products, to improve competitiveness through the adoption of new processes and technologies in value-added food small and medium enterprises.

Agriculture by Choice: To promote the agriculture sector and its connection to healthy lifestyles, both to the general public and to potential new entrants. It will also be used to support youth training initiatives (including 4H) and recent entrants to the agriculture sector in the crucial early establishment period.

Agricultural Land Enhancement: To support the sustainable development or improvement of agricultural land through the appropriate assessment, siting, planning, expansion and improvement activities to facilitate the responsible development of key commodities according to targets and principles established in the New Brunswick Agri-Land Enhancement Strategy, and other sector strategies.

Crop and Livestock Health and Quality: To enable improvements to the health, welfare and genetics of New Brunswick's production base in order to capture market opportunities and reflect society's priorities. The benefits of achieving high health standards throughout, adhering to generally accepted codes of care and continuous genetic improvement will accrue to the sector as a whole, as well as to the individual producers.

Food Safety, Biosecurity and Traceability Systems: To respond to market-driven demands for food safety, sustainability and other quality attributes by enhancing the capacity to develop, implement and demonstrate the compliance and credibility of industry's assurance systems.

Adaptability and industry capacity:

Developing Management Skills: To enhance the capacity of producers, agri-processors and agri-businesses to better understand and manage their business, both financially and technically. The initiatives will also enhance the ability of recipients to innovate, to identify potential savings and/or revenues, respond to change and maximize the use of comprehensive risk management options for their operations.