YELLOWKNIFE (October 15, 2015) – Community engagements this summer to inform the drafting of a new NWT Agriculture Strategy show the industry is celebrating a resurgence in the territory and its potential as a growth sector increasingly realized.

Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment David Ramsay released a report last week documenting what the department learned from approximately 200 individuals during public engagements, site visits and interviews in 10 NWT communities.

“The fundamental ingredients in the development of an agricultural or food production industry are the desire, willingness and capacity to grow food,” the Minister notes.  “This is clearly evident in the NWT. With the installation of greenhouses in communities on the Beaufort Sea, we now have a food production sector stretching the length and breadth of our Territory.”

Food costs in the NWT are a major contributor to the high cost of living in most communities and the displacement of imported, expensive food is the primary economic motivation behind support for the creation of a strategy document to advance and guide growth in the NWT’s agriculture sector.

While many participants recognized that local food initiatives must strive to become self-sustaining, they also expressed the need for improved access to soil, power and heat, infrastructure, land and financial resources.

The NWT Economic Opportunities Strategy (EOS) included five recommended actions to increase economic opportunities for the agriculture sector in the NWT.  Foremost among them was the creation of a definitive strategy and policy instruments to guide government investment, support business opportunities and anticipated economic growth. 

For more information contact:

Drew Williams
Manager, Public Affairs and Communications 
Industry, Tourism and Investment
1-867-920-8696  |  1-867-445-3739 | 
Drew_Williams@gov.nt.ca