Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece will chair a new agricultural advisory committee in the new year.
Pettapiece currently serves as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
"I would like to thank Minister Hardeman for asking me to serve as Chair of the Minister's Advisory Committee," said Pettapiece. "Our government wants to hear from leaders in the province's agriculture sector to ensure we approach the challenges we face in a way that reflects the needs of the sector."
Minister Ernie Hardeman announced the details of the new advisory committee on Wednesday.
It will be tasked with providing new perspectives on future growth for the sector and include veteran agri-food industry leaders.
“Our agri-food business leaders know what’s best for expanding the sector,” said Hardeman. “I look forward to working with them on the issues that impact the industry, and how our government can help support the sector now and for the long term.”
Also on the committee as vice-chairs are Keith Currie, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture; Norm Beal, CEO of Food and Beverage Ontario; and Dave Buttenham, CEO of the Ontario Agri-Business Association.
The committee will start meeting early in the new year and will meet regularly to discuss issues that impact the industry.
Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food sector contributes $39.5 billion to the GDP and supporting more than 822,000 jobs.
The total agri-food exports were $14.9 billion in 2017.
