BRANDON – The safety net known as GRIP was quietly killed five years ago in Manitoba.
But there are still some leftover premiums from the Gross Revenue Insurance Plan accumulating interest in a bank account.
Manitoba’s farm lobby group wants the GRIP surplus to be used for farmer-directed research.
Don Dewar, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, said the program was left with $17 million in 1995-96 when the provincial government wrapped it up. With interest, the bank account has fattened to $21 million, he said.
One-third of the money belongs to farmers, who paid premiums for the insurance. The rest was paid by provincial and federal governments.
The money has been in limbo because of an outstanding lawsuit, said Dewar. But there are signs the lawsuit may soon be settled.
KAP has been told the surplus will be returned to producers. Governments have already accounted for their share of the surplus as income in their books. The group plans to lobby government to spend farmers’ share on research.
