Newfoundland and Labrador will get over $2 million in public investment toward development of the province’s cranberry industry.
The federal and provincial governments on Friday announced $1.3 million from the federal Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) innovative communities fund, $530,400 in provincial natural resources department funding (including $48,000 from the federal/provincial Agricultural Policy Framework) and $200,000 from the provincial department of innovation, trade and rural development.
The funds will go toward development of more production acres at cranberry pilot sites, a provincewide analysis of sites for cranberry harvesting, and a “comprehensive report” mapping out the possibilities for commercial development in the sector. It will pay for equipment, facilities and staff for the pilot project to produce three million cranberry plants.
Read Also
CBOT Weekly: Gains in commodities amidst Iran conflict differ from Ukraine war
To analyst Tom Lilja of Progressive Ag in Fargo, N.D., there’s a difference in the commodity markets currently with the Middle East war and four years ago when Russia invaded Ukraine.
As part of this project, the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture will work with private sector partners to develop 52 new acres for cranberry production, for a total of 84 developed acres in the province.
Provincial Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale in a release called the pilot project a “tremendous success story” that started five years ago with Ottawa and the province cost-sharing for research and development into improving cranberry crop yields.
