Agriculture Ministers Renew National Agricultural Policy Framework

On September 14, 2012, federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) agriculture ministers (except Quebec, which has not taken a position on these issues) signed an agreement to extend the Growing Forward program which is set to expire on March 31, 2013. The five-year agreement, referred to as 'Growing Forward 2', sets out the policy framework for continued co-ordinated government action with respect to the agriculture, agri-food and agri-products sector through to 2018.

According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the new five-year agreement includes investments of over C$3-billion in strategic initiatives to enhance innovation, competitiveness and market development to benefit the agriculture and agri-products sector, including a 50% increase in governments' cost-shared initiatives. Similar to its predecessor, Growing Forward 2 will continue to deliver a suite of business risk management (BRM) programs.