News Releases
Government Home Search Sitemap Contact Us  

December 11, 1996
(Forest Resources and Agrifoods)

 

The following statement was issued today by Beaton Tulk, Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods. It was also read in the House of Assembly: Agriculture Awareness campaign
in Newfoundland and Labrador

I would like to inform the Honourable Members of the House of Assembly of the Agricultural Awareness Campaign across the province. To launch this campaign, more than 100,000 full-colour placemats depicting agricultural products and featuring facts and trivia about agriculture in Newfoundland and Labrador will be distributed to restaurants across the province. Newfoundland and Labrador's 700 farms generated $64 million in sales, and furthermore, processed foods accounted for another $300 million in sales last year. But we can do more.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are generally unaware of the extent of products produced locally. I recently attended a luncheon with the Food Processor's Association of Newfoundland and Labrador where they featured many of the numerous meat, fish and dairy products, beverages, baked goods, salad dressings, vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower, preserves, and so on, that are produced in this province. How many of us know that Newfoundland and Labrador products are now successfully marketed in all of Canada, the United States, Japan, Denmark, Ireland, Russia, South Korea, Norway, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, and many other regions throughout the world? And locally, did you know that farmers in this province produce all the milk and eggs we consume? However, most people would not recognize that there are opportunities in these areas to increase individual consumption to national levels according to Canada Food Guide standards. These are but a few examples, that show why it is important to increase the awareness of agriculture and the food industry, so that we can foster new ideas to take advantage of these opportunities.

To do this, my Department secured $375,000 over a three-year period through the Federal-Provincial Agriculture Safety Nets Agreement to promote agriculture in this province. We will target the education community, producers and farmers, the processing industry, media, policy makers, the general public and other professionals, such as health care workers, scientists, and agrologists, to increase the understanding and appreciation of the agri-food sector from farm gate to the consumer plate.

Moreover, we want Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to invest in agriculture in this province. This Awareness Campaign is an important part of an overall strategy to foster growth in the agriculture sector.

1996 12 11 3:45 p.m.

SearchHomeBack to GovernmentContact Us


All material copyright the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. No unauthorized copying or redeployment permitted. The Government assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any material deployed on an unauthorized server.
Disclaimer/Copyright/Privacy Statement