ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Commitment 1.2.1

We will expand the agricultural sector by:

• Updating agricultural funding programs

Agricultural funding programs

Through our Growing Forward partnership with the federal government, ITI is continuing to invest $1.2 million annually in programs and initiatives to support and grow the NWT agriculture sector. The multi-lateral Growing Forward 2 Agreement expired on March 31, 2018.

The new Canadian Agricultural Partnership came into effect on April 1, 2018, replacing the Growing Forward Agreements that saw $6 million invested in NWT agriculture in the last five years (milestone 2). The new partnership could lead to $1.2 million invested annually in the NWT agriculture sector.

As the Government of the Northwest Territories works to shape the programs that this funding will support, we continue to engage stakeholders and will begin evaluating how well this agriculture programming is meeting its objectives (milestone 1).

Related Mandate Commitments

• Commitment 1.1.13 – We will support small communities by enhancing job-creation programs, building community capacity and supporting new economic opportunities, by:
  • Implementing the Economic Opportunities Strategy
• Commitment 2.5.5 - We will implement programs that support youth in their communities and in their schools to encourage local food production and consumption.
• Commitment 4.3.5 - We will reduce the burden of chronic disease by promoting healthy lifestyles and improving screening and management, with specific focus on:
  • Expanding the production and availability of local foods such as fish, country food, and garden produce.