Government of Canada and Province of Manitoba Announce Investment to Create Jobs in Waskada

Brandon, Manitoba, January 19, 2010  - The Honourable Stan Struthers, Manitoba Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives and Merv Tweed, Member of Parliament for Brandon - Souris, on behalf of the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, announced support to help Farm Genesis Group Marketing Inc. strengthen economic opportunities in the province.

"The construction of this value-added hemp processing plant will be a strong link in Manitoba's food industry," said Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Stan Struthers.  "We were happy to provide our $75,000 contribution in September and are pleased that Farm Genesis Group Marketing Inc. was successful in their application to the Community Adjustment Fund."

“By investing in organizations such as the Farm Genesis Group, our Government is enabling Western Manitoba producers to be on the cutting edge of a new and developing industry,” said Tweed.

Under the project, Farm Genesis Group Marketing Inc. is constructing a hemp oil processing plant in Waskada. The project includes the purchase of new processing, packaging and shipping equipment for the facility. A strategic marketing plan will be implemented, designed to build a brand identity within the functional food and natural health product sectors.

Federal funding of $4,895,000 is being provided through the Community Adjustment Fund (CAF) as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. The Province of Manitoba is providing $75,000 in funding.

"This is a great day for Waskada and the RM's of Brenda, Arthur and Winchester,” said Keith Hannah, President of Farm Genesis. “With help from the Western Economic Diversification Community Adjustment Fund, we are able to make our dreams of creating a significant value added industry for our local farming community a reality. The new Farm Genesis Group processing plant will allow us to satisfy incredible international demands for Manitoba based agri-food products. Our group, 32 local farmers, have explored and cultivated this demand through intensive international marketing over the last two years and we are now ready to build the commensurate processing facility. This will help create sustainability for our family farms and future generations."

A part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, CAF is a two-year, $1 billion national program that will provide an economic stimulus by supporting projects that create jobs and maintain employment in rural communities.

The fund will provide $306 million over two years to support the most affected western

Canadian communities, such as those that are heavily reliant on resource-based industries, for instance forestry, mining, agriculture, and fisheries, and communities that depend on the manufacturing industry. Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is delivering the fund in the four western provinces.

Visit the Community Adjustment Fund (CAF) in the West or Canada’s Economic Action Plan for more information.