QUÉBEC, Quebec – The Honourable Christian Paradis, Secretary of State for Agriculture, on behalf of the Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, today announced nearly $1 million in funding for a pilot project that will benefit agricultural producers who undertake enhanced environmental protection activities.

"Canada's New Government is committed to protect our environment and we want to give a hand to our farmers and farm families who are contributing to this effort," said Mr. Paradis. "This pilot project is good news for farmers, the environment and for all Quebecers and Canadians. It will help define the value of agroforestry practices and establish financial incentives to encourage farmers to invest in environmental activities."

ÉcoRessources Consultants, the project applicant, and their partners will identify the social value and potential impediments to agroforestry development and will create a national network to share agroforestry practices among producers and experts across the country. Their study will seek to establish a value for agroforestry practices and will assist in measuring the feasibility of various approaches to environmental stewardship. It is one of the Ecological Goods and Services pilot projects being carried out across the country.

"We are very pleased to participate in a pilot project that has the potential to enhance the agricultural landscape, improve the health of ecosystems while diversifying agricultural producers' income," said Claude Sauvé of ÉcoRessources Consultants. "We are glad to have the opportunity to provide input that will aid in policy development for the protection of our environment."

This project will also receive an additional $153,000 of in-kind support from other partners including Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada, ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs and ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec, Laval University, Union des producteurs agricoles, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and Solidarité rurale du Québec.

The funding for the pilot project comes from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) Program. ACAAF is a national funding program designed to help implement innovative projects that will benefit the production and processing sector, bolster the industry's capacity to address current and emerging issues and position the agriculture and agri-food industry to seize new market opportunities.