News release
CANADA’S NEW GOVERNMENT AND THE CO-OPERATIVE SECTOR:
Provides Opportunities For Farmers And Rural Communities
OTTAWA, Ontario, October 20, 2006 - The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, announces that beginning today, farmers and rural communities can take advantage of a program that helps them use the co-op model to benefit from new opportunities in agriculture. The Agricultural Co-operative Development Initiative (Ag-CDI) aims to create sustainable livelihoods for Canadian farmers and their communities by helping develop bio-fuel and value-added agricultural co-operatives.
"Canada’s New Government wants to ensure that farmers and rural communities are ready to take advantage of the opportunities that will be created by this Government’s upcoming bio-fuels strategy," said Minister Strahl. "Ag-CDI will provide support to individuals, groups and communities wishing to develop co-operatives so they can benefit from the opportunities associated with bio-fuels and other value-added activities."
Ag-CDI is a partnership between the co-operative sector and the Government of Canada, co-managed by the two national co-op associations, the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) and the Conseil Canadien de la Coopération (CCC). Federal Agriculture & Agri-Food Minister Chuck Strahl announced a $1 million contribution to the program flowing from the 2006 Budget, where Canada’s New Government invested an additional $1.5 billion to ensure prosperity and growth in Canada's agriculture sector.
"We are very pleased to be working with government on this initiative. For more than a hundred years, agricultural co-operatives have been important enterprises that contribute to the development of communities," says CCC President Michel Rouleau. "New opportunities in agriculture present some unique challenges. We believe that through a co-operative effort, farmers and rural communities can work together and take an ownership stake in their future."
Ag-CDI will support the development of bio-fuel and value-added agriculture co-ops in three ways. First, it will help fund technical assistance for developing co-ops. It will also promote the use of co-ops through various education and training tools. And, finally, it will help build capacity to support the successful development of bio-fuel and value-added co-ops over the long term. Funding is available for projects that are completed by March 31, 2007. Qualifying groups receive between $10,000 and $40,000 for services that focus on the unique development needs of co-operatives.
"We’re thankful for the Ag-CDI program. Our producer members and local municipalities have invested considerable time, money and dedication in our project because we’re investing in the future of our region," says Fred Embryk, Chairman of Parkland Ethanol Co-op, in Grandview, MB. "This program could give us the help we need to prepare our member share offering and equity drive, which is the next critical step to success."
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For more information, media may contact:
Brenda Heald
Manager, Corporate and Member Communications
Canadian Co-operative Association
613-238-6711 ext. 211
1-866-266-7677 ext. 211
Donna Seymour
Director, Co-operatives Secretariat
613-759-7195
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