Nova Scotia farmers, processors and other stakeholders are forming a new organic agricultural council for the province.
The new council, tentatively called the Nova Scotia Organic Council, will work with the federally-formed Organic Federation of Canada (OFC) to address issues in the industry on standards and regulations, organizers said Tuesday in a provincial release.
“This new group will represent the entire organic sector — producers, handlers, processors, input manufacturers, importers, exporters, retailers, certification bodies, provincial government — as required by the Organic Federation of Canada,” steering committee member Angela Patterson said in the release.
Patterson, a certified organic grower from Kings County, is also president of the Nova Scotia Organic Growers Association, the certifying body that was “instrumental” in developing the new council, the province said.
The provincial agriculture department hosted a meeting of organic industry leaders in Bible Hill on Jan. 22 to form the steering committee.
The OFC has lined up federal funding of $27,000 to develop the provincial council, the department noted.
