Economic opportunities through agriculture were front and centre during discussions in Vernon Friday.
Mel Arnold, North Okanagan-Shuswap MP, and MP Chris Warkentin, Conservative agriculture critic, hosted roundtable meetings with local agricultural stakeholders to discuss opportunities to grow agriculture.
“Agriculture is an important driver of Canada’s economy, especially here in the North Okanagan-Shuswap, where thousands of jobs depend on agriculture and associated processing and value-adding sectors,” said Arnold.
Agriculture contributes more than $100 billion a year to the Canadian economy and Canada is the fifth largest exporter of agricultural commodities in the world.
The roundtable meetings saw a broad range of producers and value-added sectors come together to discuss opportunities they are pursuing and challenges they face in their businesses.
“Our region has a long history of agricultural production and I appreciate all the stakeholders who joined the meetings to discuss the future and needs of agriculture,” said Arnold.
“We recognize agricultural producers put food on everyone’s tables. I will continue to support them in my work in Ottawa.”