Canadian Agricultural Partnership funding available as of Apr. 1
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Alberta has officially joined the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP).
Provincial Minister of Agriculture Oneil Carlier signed the five-year $3-billion plan on Monday with federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay.
The provincial and federal governments will invest $406 million into Alberta’s agricultural industry over CAP’s five-year period.
CAP replaces Growing Forward 2 and the federal government will make funding available as of April 1.
“The investment … will help Alberta farmers and processors meet the growing need for the quality food that we’re so capable of providing,” Minister MacAulay said during the signing ceremony yesterday.
Alberta’s programming under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership consists of five key priorities: environmental sustainability, market growth and diversification, risk management, science and research, and public trust. The province will launch a total of 15 programs.
Four programs, all under the environmental sustainability category, will be opened for applications in April.
“These programs help with the objective of supporting the sector’s efforts to reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment,” Minister Carlier said during the CAP signing. “My conversations with producers and food processors across the province (show) that they understand the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
The remaining programs will roll out in the coming months, he added.
The federal government held consultations with the agricultural sector to determine what programs and changes were necessary.
“No matter what program, particularly in agriculture and being a farmer, it’s vitally important that (these decisions) comes from the bottom and not from the top,” Minister MacAulay said.
Both ministers agreed that value-added agriculture and job creation in Alberta will be used to determine CAP’s success in five years.
Farms.com has reached out to the Alberta Federation of Agriculture for industry reaction to the CAP funding announcement.