Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the harvests are in and the news is great from across the NWT for healthy growth in our building agricultural sector. Since 2006, support from the successful Growing Forward agricultural agreement has helped extend community gardens to most of our communities. NWT-produced eggs are now available in the territory. Norman Wells brought in a 35,000 pound spud crop this year. Hay River producers have launched a mobile commercial kitchen, enabling residents to process local fish and produce across our roaded system.
Here in Yellowknife, long-established community gardens have been extended to two new locations
in Weledeh and in Frame Lake ridings. We have a proposal coming forward for an urban farm, local birch syrup production is well established, interest in cultivated berry production is germinating, and gardens in at least Inuvik and Yellowknife contribute to social support programs.
As recently announced by our Industry Minister, a five-year extension of the Growing Forward Program will inject $1.2 million of welcome support a year into programming, an increase of $500,000 per year and totalling $6 million. We are looking forward to the introduction of that agreement this March.
The Territorial Farmers Association recently welcomed the Growing Forward news at its annual general meeting in Hay River. The board was invited to comment on program improvements and new program needs. Producers have stressed that programming should be designed to fuel their self-reliance, and this makes sense. The TFA will contribute comments, but would also like the opportunity to comment on the draft programming before it’s finalized. I’ll be looking for the Minister’s commitment to provide that important opportunity.
Growth in the agricultural sector is a grassroots success story. Funds provided to date have catalyzed the steady development of local economies and growing family self-sufficiency. Fruitful partnerships between local residents and the Territorial Farmers Association, Ecology North, the Arctic Energy Alliance, the GNWT and many others has yielded highly successful projects in many communities.
Ecology North’s fall fair event last month attracted incredible produce displays and participation from Hay River, Lutselk'e, Fort Simpson and other communities. Agriculture is demonstrating its long-term promise as an engine of community enterprise for lowering the cost of living and for providing quality jobs, nutrition and healthy lifestyles to the benefit of us all. Mr. Speaker, this is sound investment.
I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking all of the people – some workers, some volunteers – who are helping motivate this new industry and starting to realize the incredible potential we have across the Northwest Territories. Mahsi to all of them.