AGRICULTURAL SPENDING TARGETED TO PRIORITY AREAS

The Government of Saskatchewan will target its agricultural spending for 2004-05 to priority programs and services including risk management programs for farmers.

Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization (SAFRR) will maintain funding for core programs and infrastructure that support efforts to grow the province's agricultural sector, including primary production and processing.

"This budget has forced us to make some tough choices," Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization Minister Mark Wartman said. "Our budget has grown by 5.2 per cent to $264 million yet at the end of day we felt that we needed to rebalance the significant short-term needs for business risk management programming with our long-term plans for development."

Saskatchewan will fully fund the 2004-05 crop insurance program and provide $99 million to the new Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program.

"Our commitment to CAIS is fixed at $99 million for this year," Wartman said. "On an average year, this amount of money should be adequate. However, if there are substantial margin declines, then program payments will have to be adjusted to the funds available."

The department has reprioritized a number of planned and existing programs to meet the fiscal requirements of this year's budget, including ending the Farm Family Opportunities Initiative, the Conservation Cover Program and the Livestock and Horticultural Facilities Incentive program. There will also be operational restructuring within the department.

"We have to make the best use that we can of the resources we have available to meet our strategic goals," Wartman said. "We will launch a new Agribusiness Development Branch in 2004-05 in order to offer the specialized expertise today's agriculture industry needs. These services were identified as a priority for rural Saskatchewan by the Action Committee on the Rural Economy (ACRE) in their recommendations to government."

The department will consolidate its 31 Rural Service Centres into nine regional offices and create a new Agriculture Knowledge Centre to offer clients access to experts in crops, livestock, forages and agribusiness information by phone, fax, e-mail and the Internet. The Rural Service Centres will close April 30th. Producers will be able to obtain on-site inspection advice through the ever-expanding number of consulting agrologists in the private sector.

Department restructuring as a result of the 2004-05 budget will affect 120 full and part time employees.

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For More Information, Contact:

Scott Brown Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization Regina Phone: (306) 787-4031