Cigi will receive $6.2 million in federal funding over three years
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The federal government is helping Canada showcase its wheat on a world stage.
During a visit to the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) in Winnipeg, Man., on Wednesday, Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s new ag minister, announced the organization will receive $6.2 million in federal funding over three years from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriMarketing program.
The funding will allow Cigi to promote Canada’s wheat quality to international buyers, improve customer knowledge of Canadian wheat and provide the value chain with information on customer needs.
Between November and December 2018, representatives from the Canadian wheat sector traveled to 17 countries to promote the use of Canadian wheat.
The organization plans to meet with potential customers from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Gulf region this year.
“With this funding, Cigi will continue its efforts to ensure that informed customers know and choose Canadian grain and that the value chain continues to optimize wheat quality for end-use customers,” Laura Reiter, a Cigi board member and wheat producer from Radisson, Sask., said in a statement.
Canada exported 20.5 million tonnes of wheat in 2017. The federal government wants to achieve $75 billion worth of ag exports annually by 2025.
Helping Cigi promote Canadian wheat globally will have an affect locally, Bibeau said.
“This investment demonstrates that the Government of Canada is committed to supporting the grains sector, improving their competitiveness and fostering continued economic growth for our middle-class and long-term prosperity for all Canadians,” she said in the release.