Bilateral agreement signed

BC will see an additional $29 million over five years from the federal government when the new agricultural policy framework debuts April 1.

A new bilateral agreement between the provincial and federal governments was announced March 15 during federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s visit to the province.

The bilateral agreement covers funding for cost-shared programs under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the new five-year policy framework that will guide funding through the end of March 2028. It will replace the existing Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

Bilateral agreements cover $2.5 billion in funding allocated to the agriculture sector under the new framework.

“Through Sustainable CAP, more than $140 million will be invested in strategic initiatives, a 25% increase over the previous funding agreement,” a joint government statement said.

A further $330 million will be committed to “demand-driven” business-risk management programs.

“This partnership will support our government’s focus on food security for all British Columbians while investing significantly in BC farmers, producers and processors,” BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis said in the statement.

The top three priorities for spending enumerated in the government statement include Indigenous reconciliation; climate change adaptation, preparedness and mitigation; and domestic and international marketing.

Ottawa has opened federal programs for applications in advance of April 1, and says the new agreement will “provide business continuity to farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses that rely on the current funding agreement” that ends March 31.