The provincial grower groups from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and even Ontario have ponied up funds to support the Global Agriculture Technology Exchange, kicking off the $100+ million funding campaign.
News of the support came last week, and reaction has been mixed, as is often the case when producer groups commit large funds to a project. To delve into the why of producer groups supporting GATE, Shaun Haney sat down with Sask Wheat director, Rob Stone.
Stone believes strongly that funding the GATE project is within Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (Sask Wheat)’s mandate, as market development, market access, and all of the activities that Cereals Canada undertakes will be supported through this project.
“We need the facility. We need the equipment. And that’s fulfilling the roles of taking the research and everything that we do in our variety development and marketing it to our international customers. So it’s connecting everything together. I believe, quite confidently, that it’s well within our mandate,” Stone says.
Sask Wheat has approved funding of $6,243,074, while Alberta Grains is committing $4,319,798 and the Manitoba Crop Alliance has pledged $2,655,587. Grain Farmers of Ontario has not confirmed the amount it has committed to the project.
The funding total of $13.4 million is a long way from the $100 million-plus required to build the facility, however Stone says this commitment gets the ball rolling towards the goal and the fund raising committee is doing just that.
Listen/watch to the full interview with Rob Stone and Shaun Haney, here:
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