October 2005

About MAFRI

Our Organization

Our Staff and Budget

There are approximately 600 staff positions within Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives and its partner Crown corporation, the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC). This year the combined budget for these two organizations is within the range of $170 million. A considerable portion of this budget is dedicated towards risk reduction assistance to producers, for example, production insurance. The remaining portion is essentially dedicated towards technology transfer to provide current, reliable and unbiased information primarily to producers and rural Manitobans.  

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives and the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation work closely with the agri-food industry. In doing so, the Department and its partner Crown corporation work with stakeholders as strategic partners towards building a stronger, more stable and profitable agri-food industry. As partners we strive to co-ordinate and maximize our resources, knowledge and network towards creating an agri-food industry with greater diversification, value-added activity, sustainable agriculture and market orientation.

The Big Picture

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives and the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation are separate organizations statutorily independent of each other. Nevertheless, there is a considerable degree of co-operation, co-ordination and operational integration between these two organizations. For example, the Department and the Crown corporation use common central services in such areas as financial administration, human resource services and automated technology.

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives is composed of three divisions consisting of the Agri-Industry Development Division, Agri-Food and Rural Development Division and the Policy and Management Division. These divisions in turn are composed of branches (some of which in turn are composed of sections).