PROVINCE HELPS PRODUCERS TO SECURE WATER SUPPLIES

Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food is providing a one-time grant of $1 million to assist producers in drought-prone areas of the province to develop secure water supplies.  These funds will be issued with the assistance of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s PFRA.

Drought has been an ongoing concern for producers in a number of regions of the province,” Agriculture and Food Minister Mark Wartman said.  “We recognize the difficulties producers have had in securing adequate water supplies, and we are pleased to be able to provide assistance to producers in order to secure water sources and mitigate the effects of drought.”

Parts of southwest Saskatchewan, and many more localized regions of the province, experienced drought conditions in 2006, resulting in some producers experiencing water shortages.
 
Applicants will be eligible for cost-share grants for on-farm water developments such as wells, dugouts and pasture pipelines.  Grants will be allocated on a first-come, first-served, basis and projects must meet program construction standards to qualify for cost-sharing.  The program will be first targeted to the 34 rural municipalities in the southwest that were designated as eligible for the federal tax deferral for drought induced sale of livestock.

Application forms will be available from Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food and PFRA offices in the designated areas toward the end of April.

The attached backgrounder outlines the eligible projects and the level of assistance available.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Scott Brown
Agriculture and Food
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4031
Email: sbrown@agr.gov.sk.ca