Swine Innovation Porc Commends Minister’s Commitment to Smooth Transition to Canadian Agricultural Partnership

Stewart Cressman, the Chair of Swine Innovation Porc, is commending Canada’s Minister of Agriculture for his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition from Growing Forward 2 to the new Canadian Agricultural Partnership

by Bruce Cochrane – FarmScape Online

Last week, in observance of Canada’s Agriculture Day, Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced federal programs under the new Canadian Agricultural Partnership are now open for business and the new partnership is ready to come into effect on April 1st.

“Ensuring there isn’t a funding gap is very important for us”

 

“Our experience has always been that there has been a gap in our funding and we’ve always had to manage around that,” Cressman told FarmScape Online. “And part of that challenge is ensuring that we had cash flow, we had reserves to ensure that staff with the intellectual memory of running our program are in place so that if and when we receive our allocation of funds, that we can quickly implement.”

Cressman emphasized that part of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership program applications could commence December 1st of this year and that Swine Innovation Porc put their application in early in January.

“It’s our understanding that the Partnership are making some final decisions and we’re hopeful that the information will be conveyed to us so that we can start with the new program on April 1st – the target date of the start of the new CAP program.”

Crewman added that pork sector stakeholders are pleased that the federal government is continuing the agri-science cluster programs and were encouraged by the Minister’s assurance that there will be no lapse as agriculture transitions into the new program.

“Keeping the personnel who provide the technical expertise to support research in place within the universities and federal research facilities by ensuring there isn’t a funding gap is very important for us.”