Support for the NWT Agriculture Sector | Office of The Executive

Mar 11 2013

Mr. Speaker, sustainable agricultural initiatives play a key role in lowering the cost of living across the Territory and diversifying our economy.

Last September in Whitehorse, as part of a meeting of Ministers Responsible for Agriculture and Agri-foods in Canada, I endorsed the multi-lateral Growing Forward 2 Agreement for Agriculture. This Agreement sets the stage for bi-lateral negotiations between the GNWT and the federal government on a new five-year joint funding agreement for agriculture in the NWT.

I am happy to advise Members of this Assembly that these negotiations ? on both a multilateral agreement and a subsequent bilateral agreement to continue and expand the very successful Growing Forward Program in the NWT ? are on schedule to be completed in time for this year?s growing season.

The Growing Forward 2 Agreement will provide up to $1.2 million per year for the NWT agriculture sector over the next five years ? a funding increase of almost $500,000 per year.

Mr. Speaker, the average cost of food in the NWT is almost the highest in Canada ? second only to Nunavut and approximately 30% higher than in Ontario.

We must continually find ways to not only reduce the cost of food, but also to diversify the types of affordable healthy food choices that are available and ensure greater access to them.

We have witnessed tremendous growth in agriculture initiatives in the NWT over the past number of years. Residents have expressed keen interest in seeing this continue. Thanks in part to the program that we are now working to expand, nearly every community has some form of gardening project in place ? these range from smaller community-run gardening plots to commercial greenhouses.

From Norman Wells potatoes to Hay River?s Polar eggs, we are seeing the agriculture sector blossom from our southern border to north of the Arctic Circle.

Mr. Speaker, increasing the supply of locally produced food through agriculture and traditional harvesting, diversifying the food basket and lowering the cost of food for families are priorities that are continually identified to us by our constituents across the NWT.

In the coming years, the new Growing Forward 2 Agreement will allow us to expand community garden initiatives to enable surplus product to be sold commercially ? enabling community grocery stores to promote locally or northern produced foods alongside southern imported foodstuffs.

We are also looking at extending support to small livestock operations, supporting municipalities in identifying more lands for agriculture development within their municipal boundaries, and increasing support to our private sector.

The GNWT?s investment in agriculture further supports the 17^th Legislative Assembly?s priority to support small business and the traditional economy in the interest of strengthening and diversifying the NWT economy.

Thank You, Mr. Speaker.

Source: http://news.exec.gov.nt.ca/support-for-the-nwt-agriculture-sector/

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