By McGill Reporter Staff
On March 31, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Laurent Lessard; and Geoffrey Kelley, MNA for Jacques-Cartier and Minister responsible for Native Affairs, announced on behalf of the Government of Quebec $3,772,000 in funding over three years for the Farm Management and Technology Program (FMT), a three-year academic and practical college program offered at the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The funding will enable access to strategic training for Quebec’s English-speaking farm-business operators, thereby enhancing the competitiveness and productivity of Quebec’s agricultural industry.
“On behalf of the University, I am very grateful for the Government of Quebec’s commitment today of nearly $3.8 million for the Farm Management and Technology program, offered on McGill’s Macdonald Campus,” said Rosie Goldstein, Vice-Principal of Research and Innovation. “The skilled trainees enrolled in this program are sure to strengthen the agricultural sector in Quebec and in Canada in the years to come.”
Lessard reiterated that the funding was an investment in the future of Quebec agriculture. “For more than 40 years, the Ministry [of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food] and Macdonald campus have been working together to ensure that the new generation of Quebec’s English-speaking farmers has access to this cutting-edge program,” he said. “This funding will ensure that the impressive results of the past years, in terms of enrolment and quality of the training, will continue. Helping train and support a skilled workforce is a priority for our government.”
“Our government has placed its full confidence in this prestigious institution, the only one to offer the FMT program to the anglophone community,” said Kelley. “As a Member of Parliament for Jacques-Cartier and a retired teacher, I am proud that we will help support a qualified English-speaking workforce.”
It was also announced that then Government of Quebec was investing $5 million toward the creation of the Consortium de recherche précompétitive en transformation alimentaire, a consortium based at Macdonald campus. The Consortium will enhance the competitive capacity of businesses in the food transformation industry by increasing their ability to conduct research and development, and to launch new technological innovations. As well, the Consortium will promote partnerships between companies and researchers, and facilitate the recruitment of qualified workers. This investment will support research and development projects in the pre-competitive stages. Get more details