Burgeo receives funding for agriculture initiative's next stage

Following a successful pilot project in Burgeo last year, the Burgeo Diversification and Development Board (BDDB) and Coastal Growers are moving forward with the pre-commercial stage of an agriculture initiative.

Bill Matthews, MP for Burin-St. George's, on behalf of Brian Tobin, federal Minister of Industry and Robert Thibault, Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), along with Kelvin Parsons, MHA-Burgeo and Lapoile, on behalf of Beaton Tulk, provincial Minister of Industry, Trade and Rural Development, announced that the project received a total of $285,279 in funding. Of that amount, $217,539 was provided through the Canada/Newfoundland Comprehensive Economic Development Agreement and $67,740 was provided through the Job Creation Partnerships initiative under the umbrella of the Canada/Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market Development Agreement. 

The pilot project and market study carried out by Coastal Growers, operators of the project, and the BDDB last year indicated that tomatoes could be grown in a greenhouse environment in Burgeo and marketed on a viable basis. This first phase of the project paved the way for the pre-commercial stage of the operation which will help establish the only commercial tomato-growing endeavor in the province. In the pre-commercial stage, several additional greenhouses will be established in order to increase the operating space and allow for a higher production yield.

"I would like to congratulate the BDDB on its efforts to diversify the economy in this area through this agricultural operation. This initiative represents an innovative approach to economic development in the region and it shows how one community has taken an idea and turned it into a viable operation," said Mr. Matthews.

"More than $2 billion is spent annually on food products in our province," noted Minister Parsons. "There are opportunities for projects such as tomato growing to tap into niche markets and create jobs in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, as indicated in government's Jobs and Growth Renewal Strategy."

"We are very excited to be moving into the pre-commercial stage of our agricultural 
operation," said John Grant, chair of the BDDB. "We are optimistic that the second phase will be a success, and that the initiative will then become a year-round, commercial operation." 

The Canada/Newfoundland Comprehensive Economic Development Agreement is a six-year, $95.4 million initiative designed to complement existing federal and provincial programs and agreements. It is administered federally by ACOA and provincially by the Department of Industry, Trade and Rural Development.

Media contact:

Heidi Bonnell
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001 

Doug Burgess
Communications
ACOA
(709) 772-2935

Jennifer Savoy
Press Secretary 
Office of the Minister of State for ACOA
(613) 941-7291 
Josephine Cheeseman
Director of Communications
Department of Industry, Trade and Rural Development
(709) 729-4570

Greg Hillier
Regional Economic Development Officer
Burgeo Diversification and Development Board
(709) 886-2302

2001 11 09                         3:25 p.m.