Agriculture strategy questioned in assembly
Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister Wally Schumann says government committed to making land available
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Thursday, March 16, 2017
SOMBA K'E /YELLOWKNIFE
NWT's first-ever agriculture strategy was released March 3 by the territorial government but it's getting some criticism in the legislative assembly.
The strategy, titled The Business of Food: A Food Production Plan was developed from consultations with the Northern Farm Training Institute, the NWT Association of Communities, the federal government and NWT residents.
In the legislative assembly on March 9, Frame Lake MLA Kevin O'Reilly expressed concerns about the strategy, in particular saying it lacks specific targets or goals, and has no new funds identified in the 2017-2018 budget.
"Can the minister tell us whether we have to wait another year to find the money and start some of these activities?" he asked Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister Wally Schumann.
The minister said his department is calculating what the activities are going to cost.
"At present, we work with the federal government and the Growing Forward partnership with $1.2 million annually," he said.
"We are trying to increase that."
Under the strategy, several GNWT departments commit to work to address the economic, regulatory and safety requirements needed to advance commercial agriculture in the NWT.
"The demand for affordable, locally-grown food choices will create business and entrepreneurial opportunities that will work to strengthen and diversify the NWT's economy overall," stated Schumann in a news release.
"We want to see the NWT's agriculture sector thrive."
Meanwhile, Lands Minister Louis Sebert said the growth and development of the NWT's agriculture sector supports the territorial government's vision for sustainable land use.
"We are committed to making land available to build a diversified economy that includes our agriculture sector for the future as part of the implementation of this strategy," Sebert said.
The strategy is composed of 47 actions organized in six categories: planning; community leadership, partners and collaboration; regulatory measures; training and capacity building; resources; and food production.
