EFP Program to be Re-Launched in Nova Scotia

As many of you are well aware, the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) Program has been under review by the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture (NSDA) over the past year.  Coming off the news that the EFP program was going to be shifted to another delivery agent, the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA) and its members rallied to ensure the program continued to be delivered by the NSFA, an industry association.

After lengthy deliberations, the NSDA has agreed to continue with the NSFA delivering the on-farm portion of the program, with a significantly reduced budget. The new program will be benchmarked to align with the Farm Sustainability Assessment 2.1, which means the program will meet a recognized national standard – a direction NSFA had been advocating for a number of years. Our hope is that the program will then be used for marketing and promotion of farm products and support our efforts in gaining public trust in our food system. This work will be done through a 3-way partnership with the NSFA, NSDA and Perennia.

We are currently in the initial stages of planning exactly what the EFP re-launch will look like and have developed a task force and working group to lead this planning process. We look forward to seeing what the re-launch will be and will continue to advocate for a program that supports the best interest of the industry, while aligning with government priorities.

NSFA will continue to deliver the existing program at a reduced scale, with only two Coordinators, until the re-launch is finalized.

For more information on FSA 2.1 visit www.fsatool.com.  For any comments or concerns please contact Carolyn Van Den Heuvel, Director of Outreach and Member Relations at cvandenheuvel@nsfa-fane.ca or (902) 893-2293.