Rural Ontario received a boost with the recent announcement of two programs “to grow our communities,” says the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA).
A renewed Rural Economic Development (RED) program and new Natural Gas Grant Program were announced by the Ontario government at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference.
The OFA, in a Feb. 2 press release, welcomed the renewal of the RED program, which will provide $5 million in funding every year to support community economic development. The program supports local initiatives to enable rural municipalities and partners to diversify and grow their local economies. Applications for the RED program funds are already open for submission at omafra.gov.on.ca.
“Investment in our rural communities is what Ontario needs right now,” said OFA president Keith Currie. “Rural Ontario has great potential for economic growth through community engagement and revitalization. The renewed RED program will support some great initiatives this year.”
OFA is encouraged by the government’s recognition of the importance of expanding natural gas to rural Ontario with the Natural Gas Grant Program. The program will provide $100 million in grants to support the building of natural gas infrastructure and enable more communities to access to a lower cost energy source. Applications for the program will be available in spring 2017.
“Natural gas is the most important investment that will give rural Ontarians, including farms and businesses, the competitive edge to drive growth,” says Currie.
“OFA looks forward to working with the government to develop a real program to secure natural gas access throughout rural Ontario. This will require a longer term commitment to rural investment and we’re working to make this happen.”
The OFA is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 36,000 farm families across the province.
Based in Guelph, the farmer-led organization works to represent and champion the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, research, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations and other efforts.
