New Agency Offers Full Suite of Services to Agri-Food Industry

A merger of three provincial bodies will create a new Crown agency that will provide enhanced and better co-ordinated services to the agri-foods industry, the province announced today, May 25.

Perennia Food and Agriculture Inc. will combine the resources of AgraPoint, the Atlantic Bioventure Centre and AgriTECH Park and will be accountable to the Minister of Agriculture. Perennia will be headquartered at AgriTECH Park in Bible Hill with an office at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre in Kentville.

"Perennia is the perfect vehicle to work with department staff and industry to help producers and processors become more competitive, adopt new and innovative agricultural practices and create higher-margin products," said Agriculture Minister John MacDonell. "It is important to ensure producers succeed for rural communities since farmers spend more than 60 per cent of their income within 30 miles of their farms and 90 per cent within Nova Scotia."

The merger follows the recent announcement that the Department of Agriculture is relocating its headquarters from Halifax to Truro-Bible Hill to consolidate operations for better service to farmers and industry while bringing good jobs to the rural economy.

The Perennia merger, including 40 employees, is expected to be completed by the end of June.

"This is a very exciting development for the agri-food sector," said Jo Ann Fewer, Perennia CEO. "We will offer industry a single point of contact to address their primary production, food safety, product development and incubation needs, as well as link them to researchers and other government resources that can offer additional services."

Perennia is a fully integrated agri-food and bio-resource company with integrated teams in extension and advisory services, quality and food safety, bioventures, and facilities. Specialists work with producers and processors to address production issues on farms, create internationally recognized quality and food safety programs, provide leased incubation space for new product development, and conduct research to transform underutilized land- and marine-based resources into high-value products.