Government making agricultural land available in Happy Valley-Goose Bay

Ed Byrne, Minister of Natural Resources, announced today that 800 acres of land in the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay is being made available for farming. The land is located on the north side of Mud Lake Road and has been divided into 16 lots of approximately 50 acres each.

"Our government is committed to developing agriculture opportunities in Labrador," said Minister Byrne. "One of the challenges facing the development of the sector in Labrador is the availability of land. Through this initiative, we are making available to current farmers and new industry entrants the opportunity to access suitable land."

Minister Byrne said the development of farm land in Labrador is one of the priority strategic actions outlined in the Northern Agrifoods Development Strategy which he released in Labrador in July.

"This government is moving forward with the implementation of the Northern Agrifoods Development Strategy," said Minister Byrne. "The growth of the agricultural industry in Labrador is an important component of our plan to further expand this sector throughout the province. We believe this sector has significant growth potential in Labrador and this is reflected in government�s economic growth agenda."

The Department of Natural Resources will follow its normal procedure in the allocation of these lots in the farm land development project. This entails issuing a call for proposals to advertise the lots and seek interested applicants. All applicants must submit a farm development plan for the land and these plans will be evaluated by a selection committee which will make recommendations on the best allocation of the lots.

"We believe this process helps to ensure fairness to those interested in these lots," said Minister Byrne. "The allocation of these lots will be based on the merits of the farm plan using such criteria as commercial viability, applicants need for additional land if applicable, applicants management and use of existing land base if applicable and markets available to the farm."

While the department is interested in developing all 16 lots, this will be done through a phased-in approach. In the initial call for proposals, the department will be making available the front nine lots with the expectation that in 2005, the department will open access to the back seven lots.

Minister Byrne indicated officials of his department will be in Happy Valley-Goose Bay on Saturday, October 23, to host a public information session to provide details of the project to those interested. The session will be held at the Labrador Friendship Centre and will start at 2 p.m.

"I encourage all those who have an interest in agriculture development in Happy Valley-Goose Bay to attend this session," said Minister Byrne. "As a government, we are interested in working in partnership with the industry in Labrador so that its full potential can be realized."

Media contact: Carmel Turpin, Communications (709) 729-5282, (709) 685-4624

2004 10 19                          2:30 p.m.