OTTAWA, Ontario, February 25, 2008 - The Government of Canada is working hard to deliver real help for struggling farm families who are weathering short-term storms and adjusting to new market realities. The Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, today introduced proposed amendments to the Agricultural Marketing Products Act (AMPA) which will give Canadian producers better access to cash advances as they make important business decisions.

Most provincial and territorial governments have now signed onto the AgriInvest program and details of the new farm safety net have been released.

AgriInvest will be similar to NISA (Net Income Stabilization Account) that was cancelled a few years back. Farm organizations, in particular the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, asked for a form of the program to be returned.

The federal government is providing a $600 million kick-start for AgriInvest. This previously announced funding will not require any matching contributions from producers.

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz promoted billions of dollars in aid yesterday for struggling livestock producers, but farm groups were left to wonder whether the announcement contained any actual new money.

Ministers of Agriculture from federal, provincial and territorial governments met in Toronto, in November announcing significant progress on programs in the new business risk management (BRM) suite for farmers and other elements of Growing Forward, the new policy framework for Canada's agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products industry.*
Recognizing the importance of a smooth transition to Growing Forward, Ministers also announced they intend to seek the authorities needed to continue non-BRM programming currently in place under the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) for up to one additional year. This would provide for a transition period while Growing Forward programs are developed and implemented.