Sept. 30 was the last day of work for about 100 Alberta Agriculture staff.
The provincial agriculture department’s new focus on helping producers in rural areas, plus the new meat and livestock strategy, have triggered changes in the department, said Jason Krips, assistant deputy minister of industry development and food safety.
Between the end of September and October, 115 to 120 positions will be eliminated within the department. Some of the positions are vacant, but most of the staff took severance packages, he said.
“We do recognize we are losing a lot of expertise and knowledge,” said Krips.
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“We see this as an opportunity to renew. There are some big changes we see we need to move toward,” he said.
In June, Alberta agriculture minister George Groeneveld announced a $56 million livestock and meat strategy to help rebuild the livestock industry. A livestock agency is designed to serve as a catalyst to help livestock producers develop a more sustainable and competitive industry.
Part of the money to fund the new initiative had to come from within the department.
About 10 years ago, rural agriculture offices were closed and farmers were directed to a call centre for help with agriculture questions. The call centre was never popular with farmers who wanted a friendly face, not just a voice on the phone, to help answer their questions.
The province is now moving back to having experts in 13 regional offices across the province.
“It’s us moving forward to rebuild a positive relationship with rural Alberta,” Groeneveld said.
