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Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives

Growing Forward

Welcome to Growing Forward – the new Agricultural Policy Framework
Working together to build an innovative and profitable agriculture and agri-food sector.
 

Minister Picture

Welcome from Minister Wowchuk

Growing Forward is the foundation for coordinated federal-provincial-territorial government action over the next five years to help the agriculture and agri-food sectors become more profitable, competitive and innovative. The agreement is a shared vision among all government Ministers, bringing together cost shared initiatives designed to deliver on the Growing Forward strategic outcomes.

Growing Forward is a new commitment to Manitoba’s and Canada’s agriculture sector that's focused on achieving results, reflects input from across the sector, and will deliver programs that are simpler, more effective and tailored to local needs.

The agriculture sector has helped shape Growing Forward from the beginning, and we will continue to consult stakeholders to develop programs that work better, meet their needs and help them continue to create a sector that thrives.

Governments are investing $1.3 billion over five years Growing Forward programs. The funding represents $330 million more than the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) and will be cost-shared between the Government of Canada, as well as provincial and territorial governments on a 60:40 basis.

Growing Forward puts more emphasis on building a profitable sector through:

  • More investment in innovation;
  • Action on key regulatory priorities;
  • Environment and food safety programs;
  • Programs that better meet local needs;
  • Measures that enable farmers to be proactive in managing risk when faced with disasters.

Click here to view the Growing Forward Framework Agreement.

Click here to view the Summary Of Growing Forward Industry
Information Meeting held February 18, 2009
 

The New Suite of Business Risk Management (BRM) Programs

AgriInvest, AgriStability, AgriRecovery and AgriInsurance  are the risk management programs available under Growing Forward. These programs respond to producer demands for programs that are simple, responsive, predictable and bankable.

To find out more about these programs, visit the New Business Risk Management Suite.

Non-BRM Funding and Initiatives

The non-BRM programs are designed to complement existing BRM programs with a greater focus on supporting innovation, commercialization and profitability for the sector in the following areas:

  • Innovation
  • Business and sector development
  • Food safety
  • Environment

Manitoba's non-BRM programs include:

Innovation Suite:

The Innovation Suite supports products that create and develop new methods, products and technology that will improve Manitoba’s competitive edge in the agriculture sector. Projects are submitted in two categories:

I. Strategic Innovation: Supports investment in strategically important initiatives brokered by the province among government and industry stakeholders and targeted toward:

  • encouraging sector alignment in support of developing new innovation value chains especially by fostering collaboration among value chain participants;
  • building new capacity for innovation;
  • capturing specific innovation related opportunities in primary and/or value added processing;
  • solving strategically important problems in the agri-food sector;
  • promoting innovation and information sharing.

Programs and initiatives covered under Strategic Innovation are:

II. Industry Innovation: Supports investment in innovative projects brought forward by participants in the sector.
Programs and initiatives covered under Industry Innovation are:

Business Development Suite:

The Business Development Suite will focus resources in four broad areas that will enhance the business management skills and capacity of individuals managing farm and agricultural-product processing businesses. Target clients include farm and post-farm business managers, ensuring the inclusion of Aboriginal people, young farmers, youth, new Canadians and women.

Programs under Business Development are:

Sector Development Suite:

Northern Agriculture Program: The Northern Agriculture Program will support the development of northern agricultural systems, with the objective of increasing the volume and value of agri-food produced in northern regions. Funds will be provided to support initiatives that contribute to the increased production of nutritional foods by northern producers. Potential activities under this initiative include: agriculture extension support to remote communities; the development, testing and implementation of new production and marketing systems that make northern food products more accessible to various markets.

Food Safety Risk Management Suite

The Food Safety Risk Management Suite supports programs and resources towards establishing and implementing food safety, biosecurity and traceability systems in key areas of the food chain. The suite also aims to increase the food safety knowledge capacity of all industry stakeholders.

Programs under the Food Safety Risk Management Suite are:

Environment Suite

The Environment Suite supports two funding avenues: Environmental Action and Environmental Information.

I. Environmental Action improves the environmental performance and sustainability of agricultural operations. To do this, the program will provide funding for eligible Beneficial Management Practices that enhance agriculture’s capacity to reduce risk to water and air quality, improve soil productivity and enhance wildlife habitat.

Programs included in Environmental Action are:

II. Environmental Information supports the provision of environmental information to help decision-making and improve the sustainability of agriculture.

Programs include:

Activities include:

  • Soil Survey Program: Provide operational support (equipment, staff, etc) to create an inventory of soil properties such as pH, salinity or erosion and to map the distribution of these soil types in Manitoba to direct agricultural management practices. Farmers, government, conservation groups and commodity groups will be able to use the information to guide environmental farm planning, land-use planning, watershed management and nutrient management planning purposes.
     
  • Ecological Goods and Services Pilot ProjectsGoods and Services Pilot Projects: The program will support research, modeling and evaluation of Environmental Goods and Services (EG&S) policy options to determine the most effective EG&S policy instrument for agro Manitoba. Different models for this program will be developed and tested on the Manitoba agro-landscape using agricultural landowners in selected pilot study areas.
     
  • Environmental Sustainability: Provides funding and technical assistance to a max of $50,000 per proponent to local producer groups and commodity organizations with an interest in agricultural sustainability to carry out applied investigation projects. The Agricultural Sustainability Initiative will support projects aimed to improve sustainable agriculture farming practices, transfer or sharing of technology and information, workshops and fact sheets. Capital items are not covered under this initiative.
     
  • Agro-Meteorology Information System: Monitors meteorology patterns throughout agro-Manitoba and develops decision-support systems through the use of real-time data dissemination that enhances risk mitigation and input efficiency tools for producers. The information uses include, but are not limited to: pest forecasting, stubble-burning authorizations and risk mitigation of weather-related threats to crop and livestock production.

For more information on Growing Forward programs, consult with the client service representative at your local GO Centre.

Growing Forward Service Delivery

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) Growing Opportunities (GO) Centres or Offices are located in 45 rural locations. MAFRI staff are committed to providing quality client service. Staff work collaboratively with industry, rural communities and agricultural associations and organizations to take advantage of emerging opportunities in food and non-food value-added industries.

GO offices are your point of contact for Growing Forward program delivery. In addition to accessing Growing Forward programs, our staff can provide guidance for capitalizing on other available provincial funding as well.

To find your local GO Centre or Office, call Manitoba Government Inquiry at 1-866-626-4862; or click on this GO Office link for a list of locations.