Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is an Ontarian government ministry

Ministry (government department)

A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a minister or a senior public servant, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory, managerial or...

 responsible for the food

Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...

, agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 and rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 sectors of the Canadian province of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs helps to build a stronger agri-food sector by investing in the development and transfer of innovative technologies, retaining and attracting investment, developing markets, providing regulatory oversight, and providing effective risk management tools.

The ministry also helps enable rural Ontario to build strong, vital communities with diversified economies and healthy social and environmental climates.

The current Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is the Honourable Carol Mitchell

Carol Mitchell

Carol Mitchell is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in the cabinet of Dalton McGuinty and member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the riding of Huron—Bruce. She is a member of the Ontario Liberal Party.Mitchell was born in...

.

Past Ministers include:

• Elmer Buchanan
  Elmer Buchanan
  Elmer Buchanan is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae...
  
   Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (March 9, 1994—June 26, 1995) and Minister of Agriculture and Food (October 1, 1990—March 9, 1994)
• Noble Villeneuve
  Noble Villeneuve
  Noble Villeneuve is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1983 to 1999, and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Frank Miller and Mike Harris.Villeneuve did not attend university, and worked as a...
  
   (June 26, 1995—June 17, 1999)
• Ernie Hardeman
  Ernie Hardeman
  Ernie Hardeman is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the rural riding of Oxford for the Progressive Conservative Party....
  
   (June 1999-February 2001)
• Brian Coburn
  Brian Coburn
  Brian Coburn is not to be confused with the person of the same name who represents the same area on the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School BoardBrian Coburn is a politician in Ontario, Canada...
  
   (February 2001-April 2002)
• Helen Johns
  Helen Johns
  Helen Johns is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was born in Toronto, Ontario She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003, and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves.Johns has a Bachelor of Arts degree...
  
   (April 2002-October 2003)
• Steve Peters (October 2003-June 2005)
• Leona Dombrowsky
  Leona Dombrowsky
  Leona Dombrowsky is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the riding of Prince Edward—Hastings, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty....
  
   (June 2005-January 2010)

Ministry agencies

The Ministry is responsible for the following agencies:

• Agricorp
  Ontario Agricorp
  Ontario Agricorp is a Crown agency of the Province of Ontario that provides risk management programs, including financial, food safety, environmental, and market security, to governmental and non-governmental agricultural sector businesses.-History:...
  
  
• Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario
  Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario
  The Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario is an Ontarian government Crown corporation, established in 1962, by the ARIO Act, to "advocate areas of research for the betterment of agriculture, veterinary medicine and consumer studies" and "increase the production efficiency and marketing of...
  
  
• Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal
• Board of Negotiation
• Council of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario
• Grain Financial Protection Board
• Livestock Financial Protection Board
• Livestock Medicines Advisory Committee
• Normal Farm Practices Protection Board
• Ontario Agristability Review Committee
• Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission
• Ontario Food Terminal Board
• Rural Economic Development Advisory Panel

External links

• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs website

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