But Ontario's agricultural sector is looking for a longer-term commitment than this when the provincial budget comes down this month. A signal from the province that agriculture ranks ahead of food and rural affairs in the portfolio's priorities would put a smile on farm leaders' faces. What the OFA and other agricultural organizations want when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty brings down his budget this month is a shoring up of the long-term core financing of agriculture. Wilkinson cites the Healthy Futures program as an example of short-term funding. Healthy Futures was set up in December 1999 with the stated goal of helping to develop Ontario agri-food safety and quality, marketing and exporting, as well as improving rural water quality.
Municipalities can access that fund to rebuild infrastructure.
So can tourist attractions, colleges, universities, hospitals and small town and rural development, but agriculture is excluded. The biggest target of the farm groups is how agriculture is funded. Wilkinson reiterates that agriculture must become the primary client once again of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Concern has grown about the shift from ongoing agricultural services to towards project-based funding available only under certain conditions, Wilkinson says. Administration costs are shifted onto applicants to the programs.