The funding will help farmers to develop new marketing opportunities, infrastructure, and further improve orchard pest management.

“This investment will allow the tree fruit industry to find new technologies that will help them stay ahead of the curve in the global market,” said Stockwell Day, president of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway.

“This is a significant investment that will give tree fruit growers in this province the innovative edge they need to strongly promote B.C. grown fruit and compete with producers in other regions,” said B.C. Minister of Agriculture and Lands Steve Thomson. “In our discussions, the industry identified some areas, such as marketing and infrastructure, where they wanted to focus efforts and make further improvements.”

The Province of B.C. announced $2 million in funding, and the federal government will provide an investment of $3 million more. This combined funding will be used for new environmentally friendly packing and storage infrastructure, marketing opportunities that raise the profile of fresh and processed apples, and to build on work accomplished by the sterile insect release program in the Okanagan and Kootenay regions.

“Everyone benefits from a healthy and prosperous fruit industry,” said B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association president Joe Sardinha. “There are approximately 800 orchard operators in B.C., and together they generate $900 million in economic activity that creates jobs and delivers high quality products to markets in B.C. and around the world.”

The federal funding investment is made through the AgriFlexibility Fund, a five-year, $500-million fund created to help reduce costs of production and improve environmental sustainability for the sector; promote value-chain innovation and sectoral adaptation; and respond to emerging opportunities and market challenges for the sector.

The Governments of Canada and B.C. also offer a suite of jointly-funded Business Risk Management programs under Growing Forward. AgriInvest, AgriStability and AgriInsurance (crop insurance) work together to provide farmers with support against farm income and production losses beyond their control.