IMPROVEMENTS ANNOUNCED FOR AGRICULTURE IRRIGATION SERVICES

The provincial government announced a series of initiatives today that will improve support for the irrigation sector.

Agriculture and Food Minister Mark Wartman said the province will invest $200,000 dollars in equipment upgrades and repairs at the irrigation research facilities in Outlook over the next few months. The department will also create a new Irrigation Development Branch that better aligns the resources already in place within the department.

"The Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Assocation, the Action Committee on the Rural Economy and the Saskatchewan Agrivision Corporation have all asked us to focus our work in irrigation so we can better capture the opportunities offered by high-value crops and livestock production," Wartman said. "We begin that long-term effort today by investing in our research facilities and by bringing together the staff and resources needed to chart our path for the future."

The new Irrigation Development Branch will be responsible for irrigation development, technology transfer and regulatory oversight. It will be important for the branch to create a link between irrigation and value-added opportunities, including livestock expansion and higher value crops.

"Both levels of government and individual farmers have made significant investments in irrigation over the past 50 years," Wartman said. "As a result, we now have approximately 340,000 acres under irrigation in Saskatchewan. We will need to continue to grow the industry and develop a critical mass of irrigated acres to fully develop the value-added sector and to increase the value generated from those acres. Government and industry need to take a hard look at what we are doing today and establish what it is that we need to do differently."

Analysis is already underway to establish the feasability of expanding the province's existing infrastructure or creating new irrigation networks. Results of that research are expected before the end of 2006.

-30-

For More Information, Contact:

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