Released on March 6, 2009
Farmers and ranchers in the 65 drought designated Rural Municipalities (RMs) in Southwest Saskatchewan, looking for long-term solutions to deal with drought, will receive additional support. The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan are working together to increase funding for the Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program (FRWIP) to $29 million.
"Producers need water to succeed and this Government's investment in wells and dugouts will pay off for generations," said Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "I grew up on a farm near Rosetown so I know producers can't always count on the rain. We're making investments like this to make sure producers have water sources they can count on in dry years."
The FRWIP program, announced last spring, provides funding for on-farm wells, pipelines and dugouts, as well as community wells. These measures address short-term needs while providing long-term solutions. The original funding for this program totalled $15 million.
The program has been very successful, with nearly 3,400 applications submitted by producers and RMs. To address this high demand for the program, the federal and provincial governments are increasing funding to $29 million.
"Given the number of applications, this program has been well received by farmers, ranchers and RMs in southwest Saskatchewan," Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud said. "This $29 million will help to develop long-term water infrastructure that will benefit producers for many years to come."
This assistance is being provided under the AgriRecovery program complementing other federal initiatives, including tax deferral for livestock producers and federal assistance under the Canada Saskatchewan Water Supply Expansion Program. The program is cost shared on a 60-40 basis between the federal and provincial governments.
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For more information, contact:
Donna Rehirchuk
Agriculture
Regina
Phone: 306-787-5389
Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa
Phone: 613-759-7972
Meagan Murdoch
Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz
Ottawa
Phone: 613-759-1059