British Columbia has divvied up its share of the federal/provincial funds on the table in the second incarnation of the Growing Forward ag policy funding framework.
The province announced Thursday it has signed its bilateral Growing Forward 2 agreement with the federal government. The deal gives B.C. a budget of $105 million out of the total $2 billion pledged by Ottawa and all provinces and territories, to be used between now and the end of March 2018 for ag sector programs apart from business risk management (BRM).
“The programs contained in Growing Forward 2 will meet the needs of B.C.’s incredibly diverse agrifoods sector, and the views and opinions we received from B.C.’s food producers when consulting with them are represented in the agreement,” provincial Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick said in the province’s release.
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The B.C. government said its non-BRM funds will go to support the agrifoods sector in three areas: innovation ($27 million), competitiveness and market development ($55 million), and adaptability and industry capacity ($23 million).
Innovation programs, the province said, are expected to help increase profitability by encouraging the agrifoods industry in B.C. to “focus on the ‘innovation continuum’ from research and development, and pilot programming, through to the commercialization and adoption of new products, processes and practices.”
Those programs, the province said, will be open to activities or projects that are within two years of commercialization, and focus on one of five priorities: energy and waste management; advancements in plant, animal and food science; new product development and commercialization; improvements in soil, water and air quality; and climate change adaptation.
Competitiveness and market development programs, meanwhile, “aim to create and expand market-based opportunities and provide industry with knowledge and tools to compete at home and abroad.”
The market development programs are expected to help diversify markets for B.C.’s agrifood and seafood products, boost profitability, and help B.C.’s agri-businesses” identify and capitalize on new trends and consumer preferences,” and to provide market intelligence and advisory services.
The competitiveness programs are expected to help “meet and respond to consumers demand for trusted, high-quality products that are produced in an environmentally sustainable and humane manner,” and will be based in biosecurity and surveillance; food safety; traceability and premises identification; and farm animal welfare.
B.C.’s third group of GF2 programs, for “adaptability and industry capacity,” is expected to “support farms and firms to help increase profitability, and effectively anticipate and manage challenges and risks,” focusing on business knowledge and strategic adaptation; industry capacity building; and sustainable agriculture management.
GF2, Letnick said, will support the provincial government’s agrifoods strategy and will contribute to the province’s stated goal of B.C.’s agrifood sector becoming a $14 billion-a-year industry by 2017.
B.C.’s agreement makes it the third province to formalize its GF2 funding, after Alberta and Ontario.
Overall, the GF2 agreement between Ottawa and the provinces and territories provides for a 50 per cent increase in cost-shared funding over the previous framework, plus $1 billion for “federal-only” strategic initiatives including the new industry-focused AgriInnovation, AgriMarketing and AgriCompetitiveness programs announced before GF2 took formal effect on Monday.
GF2 also continues to commit governments to separate funding for the suite of BRM programs such as AgriStability and AgriInvest.
Related stories:
Ont. signs onto GF2, continues previous programming, April 3, 2013
Growing Forward sequel now in effect, April 1, 2013
