Without a lot of fanfare Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart announced the launch of the Growing Forward 2 agricultural policy framework in Saskatchewan.
The framework is about investing dollars in the province over the next half decade which are supposed to be supportive of agriculture.
The federal and provincial governments will invest $388 million in Saskatchewan for strategic initiatives over five years, an increase of more than $25 million per year over the previous Growing Forward framework, related a government release.
A $25 million hike seems significant until you factor in inflation over the five year term, and suddenly the growth is little more than keeping pace with past investment.
The dollars are being targeted at programs which offer flexibility to meet the needs of Saskatchewan farmers and agribusinesses. The release notes the actual investment is going to programming identified after extensive consultation with producers.
So, the programming has been developed to provide:
* $170 million over five years in agriculture innovation, research and technology transfer;
* $65 million over five years in rural water infrastructure;
* $60 million over five years in environment, food safety, plant and animal health;
* $32 million over five years for value-added business development as well as trade and market development;
* $25 million over five years in farm business management; and
* $4 million over five years to support the industry in agriculture awareness initiatives.
Split over six areas, and then spread over five years, the impact of the dollars may be less that government is suggesting.
Certainly in some areas the dollars spent can be very positive.
When you look at rural water infrastructure, a dollar invested whether in irrigation, dams, or bridges will have long lasting effects locally.
But when you take $32 million and spread it over a half decade, its real impact on value-added business development may be much harder to measure into the future.
Of course both levels of government speak glowingly of the investment.
"Our government remains focused on creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for Saskatchewan's agricultural industry," said Ritz in the government release."Growing Forward 2 provides flexible, innovative programming for Saskatchewan's hard-working farmers to ensure they have the tools they need to remain competitive and expand into new markets."
"Agriculture is one of the main economic drivers in Saskatchewan and this new five-year agreement will help our farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses and exporters to grow the industry," Stewart said in the same release. "We consulted extensively with producers and the industry on the development of these programs, which will help ensure our products continue to feed a growing world population and contribute to a better quality of life for all Saskatchewan citizens."
While the programming may be less than needed, it is a positive agriculture at least remains on the radar in Ottawa.
While the agricultural vote is of little impact federally these days, it is important the federal government continue to invest in such an important primary sector, and the recent announcement is good to see as it draws tax dollars into the sector from federal coffers.
