Budget cuts to agriculture not slicing the sector

Jun 03, 2016

Manitoba's Department of Agriculture was one of only two departments to see cuts in this year's provincial budget.

The budget, which was introduced this week, shows a $1 million cut to agriculture, but Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said on Tuesday that this number isn't as bad as it looks.

"These have been strong production years," he says, "so part of what you're seeing reflects the decrease in the insurance amounts. So in other words, farm insurance programs are not having (high) payouts... So in some respects, it's a good news story if the Department of Agriculture can come in under."

Ag Minister Ralph Eichler says this drop in forecast spending for agriculture is also to do with re-jigging some of the funding.

"For example, we used Hometown Grants through... rural initiatives, we've moved some of those over to municipal funding because it's more about rural communities than agriculture," he explains.

While agriculture saw an overall drop in funding, the budget numbers on agricultural research and innovation saw an almost $60,000 increase, which Eichler says is important.

"We wouldn't be growing corn (in Manitoba) if it wasn't for science," he says. "Science is what we want to base our future on."

Source : Portageonline

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