Alberta Agriculture minister Verlyn Olson today announced $21 million in grants to improve irrigation infrastructure in the province.
“Irrigation is an integral component of the economic, environmental and social fabric of southern Alberta. That’s why we need to build and maintain a stronger irrigation system to increase water efficiency and ensure our producers can continue to diversify their crops,” he said in a news release.
Irrigation districts in southern Alberta receive the annual funding to maintain and improve irrigation systems that supply more than one million acres of land with water. The irrigation systems support more than 55 different crops and supply water to 50 communities and municipalities in Alberta.
Alberta is home to approximately 70 percent of all the irrigated land in Canada. Irrigation farms account for about five percent of the arable land in Alberta, producing nearly 20 percent of Alberta’s total food production.
The $21 million in grants are part of a cost-sharing arrangement with Alberta’s 13 irrigation districts. The funds will be used for updating and rehabilitating aging parts of the system that includes more than 8,000 kilometres of canals and pipelines.
