KELOWNA – The Government of Canada, in partnership with the Province of British Columbia, announced today an investment of $5 million to support the tree fruit industry. This funding will deliver real results for farmers by helping to develop new marketing opportunities, infrastructure, and further improve orchard pest management. “Canada’s Economic Action Plan is putting farmers first, by helping to increase production and sales, and creating more opportunities for farmers to get their product to market,” said Stockwell Day, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “This investment will allow the tree fruit industry to find new technologies that will help them stay ahead of the curve in the global market.” “This is a significant investment that will give tree fruit growers in this province the innovative edge they need to strongly promote B.C. grown fruit and compete with producers in other regions,” said Minister of Agriculture and Lands Steve Thomson. “In our discussions, the industry identified some areas, such as marketing and infrastructure, where they wanted to focus efforts and make further improvements.”The Province of B.C. announced $2 million in funding, and the Federal Government will provide an investment of $3 million more. This combined funding will be used for new environmentally friendly packing and storage infrastructure, marketing opportunities that raise the profile of fresh and processed apples, and to build on work accomplished by the sterile insect release program in the Okanagan and Kootenay regions.
For more information on this program visit www.agr.gc.ca/agriflexibility.
For more information on the Sterile Insect Release program, see http://www.oksir.org/.
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