Sturgeon County council has struck a task force to figure out how to grow the region’s agritourism industry.
County council voted unanimously March 9 to initiate an $80,000 agribusiness and agritourism review supported by a community-based task force.
Administration proposed that council create this task force to study economic opportunities and best practices for agritourism and agribusiness in the county. The task force, composed of two councillors and seven county residents or business owners, would research best practices, barriers to expansion and potential economic supports for agritourism and agribusiness, all of which were to be summarized in a report to council.
County council needs to ensure it has the right supports in place for the farm sector, especially as the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board works on its proposed Regional Agricultural Master Plan, Mayor Alanna Hnatiw said.
“It’s important for us to be able to tease out what the future of agriculture looks like.”
In an interview, Prairie Gardens & Adventure Farm owner and agritourism advocate Tam Andersen said she was pleased council is starting this review, as it could help local entrepreneurs diversify their farm operations during the pandemic.
“There’s a lot of opportunity for us to value-add our agricultural commodities and crops,” she said, such as through distilleries, direct farm marketing, culinary tourism, and also to provide urban residents with unique local farm experiences.
At the same time, Andersen said agribusiness could create conflicts with other residents (e.g. through greater traffic), so it is important to set out some common rules and regulations for it.
County administration would put out a call for volunteers to serve on the task force in the coming weeks. The task force is expected to start operations by June 2021.
