March 18, 2014, Toronto — The governments of Canada and Ontario are
helping the province’s greenhouse industry meet consumer demand for high
quality floral products by supporting an innovative, private sector
risk management fund.
March 18, 2014, Toronto — The governments of Canada and Ontario are helping the province’s greenhouse industry meet consumer demand for high quality floral products by supporting an innovative, private sector risk management fund.
The industry-designed GreenCHIP fund will provide compensation for lost product and business interruption in the event of a quarantine ordered by the Canada Food Inspection Agency.
Flowers Canada Growers Inc. will manage the fund, which will help growers market a consistent, high quality product while managing their unique business management risks.
“This support will allow flower growers to implement a new tool to better manage business risks and grow their businesses,” said MP Dean Allison , who represented federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz at the news conference.
GROWING FORWARD 2
Federal and provincial funding for the GreenCHIP project is provided through AgriRisk Initiatives under Growing Forward 2, which supports the research, development, and implementation of new risk management tools for use in the agriculture sector.
“ Our government is committed to working with Ontario’s greenhouse flower producers to create a better climate for business investment, stronger economic growth and new jobs,” said Ontario Minister of Rural Affairs Jeff Leal. “GreenCHIP is an industry-run program that is good for business and good for Ontario.”
The province is providing more than $606,000 to support the development of the GreenCHIP program.
“ GreenCHIP marks a new way of thinking about business risk management for the greenhouse floriculture industry,” said FCG executive director Dean Shoemaker.
“It’s an excellent example of the way producers are becoming increasingly responsible for managing their risk through industry-delivered private sector approaches.”
AT A GLANCE
• Ontario is the third largest producer of greenhouse floricultural products in North America, behind California and Florida.
• The greenhouse flower industry is now Ontario’s seventh largest agricultural sector.
• According to Statistics Canada, the farmgate value of the Ontario greenhouse floriculture industry was $710 million in 2012. Export sales were $174 million.
• Floriculture production includes flowering potted plants, annual spring/bedding plants, container-grown perennials, spring flowering containers and cut flowers produced in heated greenhouses and freestanding hoop houses.
• In 2012, the industry employed about 8,505 people (5,040 seasonal and 3,465 full-time) with a gross yearly payroll of $157 million.
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