Investments will be made into wireless technology
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Ontario’s Minister of Finance Charles Sousa tabled a balanced budget on Thursday afternoon, keeping the Liberal’s campaign promise to balance Ontario’s books by 2018/2019.
“Four years ago, our government promised to balance the budget,” Minister Sousa said in his Queen’s Park address. “And today, Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce, thanks to the hard work of the people of Ontario, we did it.
“The 2017 Ontario budget is a balanced budget.”
Here are some of the highlights as it pertains to agriculture:
- In March 2017, Ontario announced $19 million for the Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative to help greenhouses innovate, reduce costs and increase productivity,
- Ontario is investing $50 million to establish the Vector Institute for artificial intelligence (AI), and $130 million over five years for two 5G wireless technology projects
Minister of Finance Charles Sousa, right, presents the 2017 Ontario budget.
“Tomorrow’s farmers will use AI and 5G technologies to monitor their crops in minute detail, using sensors to spot early signs of disease and to deliver precision herbicides,” the budget says. “They will be able to use sophisticated datasets to make better judgements about weather, planting schedules and patterns, and crop yields.”
Farmers need the fast and reliable Internet for precision agriculture, says Jeff Leal, Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture.
“When you look at Ontario’s population, 1.4 per cent supports the other 98.6 per cent,” he told Farms.com on Friday. “When you look at (farmers) and how productive they’ve been for decades, they need real-time data that supports precision agriculture. Broadband connectivity is a valuable tool for modern farming today.”
Ontario also plans to introduce a legislative framework to provide municipalities with the flexibility to reduce property tax rates for eligible small-scale value-added and commercial activities on farms.
“Currently, these operations are taxed at industrial or commercial rates,” the budget reads. “Under the proposed changes, a portion of the assessment attributable to the value-added processing or commercial activity would be eligible to be taxed by the municipality at a reduced rate.”
Potential tax relief for producers is a step towards a more sustainable agricultural industry, says Leal.
Property tax reduction for farmers “is something I’ve been driving for last couple of years,” Leal said. “We have an apple grower, (for example), who wants to sell apple cider that he processes on his farm but (current assessments) was making it extremely punitive.
“Value-added activities is something we want to encourage because we believe the sustainability of farming is crucial.”
Agriculture’s role in the 2017 budget exemplifies the industry’s importance in the province.
“Ontario’s agri-food sector is an essential part of our economy. The many sector references throughout the budget signals just how important it is to both our government and the economy,” Leal said in a release.
“Our sector – and the good things that are grown, sold and processed in our province – contributes over $36.4 billion dollars to the province’s GDP, employing approximately 800,000 Ontarians each and every day.”