The provincial government launched its new Rural Economic Development strategy this week, and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture is pleased to see many of its recommendations included in the document.

The announcement was made by Ontario’s Minister of Rural Affairs, Lisa Thompson, at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference this week.

During consultations around the strategy’s development last year, OFA provided its priorities around what will best help rural economic development be impactful and drive meaningful change for farmers and rural Ontario:

• Preserving farmland and providing funding and other supports for local agri-food business diversification and business-to-business networking.
• Increasing funding for the Rural Economic Development program and restoring staffing levels in the Ministry of Rural Affairs’ Community Economic Development unit
• Funding agri-food innovation, diversification, and market development and supporting business attraction through smart land use planning that targets investment-ready sites
• Supporting agritourism, ecotourism and culinary tourism businesses to expand and diversify their offerings.
• Investing in affordable natural gas, high-speed broadband internet and well-maintained roads and bridges, as well as social infrastructure like schools, hospitals and community supports.
• Establishing strategies to attract workers to rural Ontario, including filling critical labour gaps with rural, agricultural and manufacturing employers

We appreciate that the government has included many of these priorities in its new strategy, particularly the announcement that it will be doubling funding for the renamed Rural Ontario Development Program from $5 million to $10 million a year for the next two years.

At ROMA, the province also announced $18 million of new funding for the Agricultural Drainage Infrastructure Program for municipalities which will help keep our farmland productive, and that municipalities are now able to apply for funding for projects related to improving outdated water, wastewater and stormwater facilities.

A strong rural economy matters to the entire provincial economy. The agri-food sector alone, which spans from Ontario’s farms right through to food service contributes more than $50 billion to the provincial economy every year and provides jobs for about 11% of the province’s workforce – or more than 871,000 people.

That’s why OFA believes rural economic development should be a focus not just for the Ministry of Rural Affairs, but also many other ministries who impact Ontario’s rural business and social fabric, from health, housing, and labour to economic development, transportation and more.