Fifteen years after it was founded, the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council has a new identity.
The council, which funds projects to invigorate Manitoba’s rural economy and supports innovative opportunities in agriculture, announced yesterday it has been renamed the Prairie Improvement Network.
“This is an exciting, interesting and challenging time in agriculture and the rural sector, and this fundamental change in the organization will position it to address the new realities in a competitive collaboration model,” said Ted Eastley, Prairie Improvement Network (PIN) executive director, in a release.
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The council administers Manitoba’s portion of the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program, a federal adaptation fund created when the Crow Rate ended. This spring the federal government announced the program would expire in 2014.
“So, now is the opportune time to make the change,” Eastley said, noting that PIN will reach out to other funders moving forward.
“Because of the model we have developed (evaluating and monitoring projects)… we think that we’ve got an excellent model to use that to approach industry to administer research and development funds in an arm’s length method. As well as other government agencies, both federal and provincial.”
The non-profit corporation has funded 600 projects in the province since 1997, investing more than $23 million into rural adaptation and innovation. It has funded studies on the potential of exporting Manitoba forages around the globe, the possibility of turning straw into paper and the feasibility of ethanol plants in the province.
The press release, heralding the name change, noted that MRAC leaders developed a new strategic plan over the last few months. As a result, the renamed organization now has a clearer mandate.
PIN will continue to be a project funder, but will also advocate for rural Manitoba, offer leadership on rural/urban issues and provide a networking forum for people striving to improve in rural life.
The organization’s new website, www.prairienetwork.ca, will be launched Nov. 26.
