A Bay Street entrepreneur who is backing a large corporate farm and land management company on the Prairies has donated $1 million to increase aboriginal programming at the University of Saskatchewan.
Eric Sprott, founder of Sprott Asset Management and chair of Sprott Resources Corp., made the donation Jan. 14.
Sprott Resource Corp., is the parent company of One Earth Farms, a company that hopes to lease up to 250,000 acres of farmland in 2011.
Since it was established two years ago, One Earth has developed a close relationship with aboriginal groups across Western Canada.
Much of the land managed by One Earth is First Nations land, suitable for grain and cattle production.
The company’s plan for 2011 includes grain production on 150,000 acres and grazing operations on 100,000 acres.
One Earth hopes to have 22,000 head of cattle on pasture this year.
Mary Buhr, dean of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, said the million dollar donation from the Sprott Foundation will be used to establish a new post-graduate diploma in Aboriginal agriculture and land management.
Last September, One Earth also announced its participation in an initiative known as the Inroads to Agriculture Institute, a $5 million training program funded by Ottawa, the province of Saskatchewan, One Earth farms, First Nations groups, industry partners and educational institutions.
Under the program, First nations and Metis students receive training, certification and job placements the agriculture and agri-business sectors.
When the program was announced last September, a government news release said One Earth Farms would contribute $990,000 to the initiative.
Since its inception, executives and managers at One Earth has stated that job training programs for First Nations people was a key component in the company’s long term plans.
One Earth officials said First Nations training programs would help to train a new generation of farmers, provide the company with a qualified pool of employees and strengthen the relationship between First Nations groups and the company.
