Agriculture and Forestry Minister Eric Hammill says the Department of Agriculture and Forestry will be putting a high priority on providing the agri-food and forest industries with more advice and assistance in the areas of marketing and business development.
"The Prince Edward Island agri-food and forest industries have already demonstrated their capacity to produce a wide range of high quality products," said Mr. Hammill. "In a highly competitive global market environment, the major challenge now is to actively identify and pursue new and expanded markets for new and existing products."
Mr. Hammill released a recent survey of departmental clients who gave a low rating for the department's marketing advice and assistance. Only 60 percent of agriculture clients are satisfied with the department's work in that area. Previous surveys confirmed this view. The department has been conducting client surveys since 1995.
"Our clients are telling us we need to provide better services in this area, and changes will be made," said the minister. "That will mean a reallocation of resources within the department, retraining of staff and increased coordination with the marketing arm of Enterprise PEI."
Mr. Hammill said the client survey indicates the department continues to improve its results in other areas. Overall, 82 percent of clients are satisfied with the work of the department, an increase of seven percent from the 1996 survey. The level of client satisfaction with the quality of advice and assistance they receive from the department is also higher, up from 79 percent in 1996 to 86 percent in 1997. Clients rated the performance of department staff at 94 percent, the same high rating they gave in 1996.
Through its strategic planning process, the department established a goal of 90 percent of satisfied clients by the year 2000. Mr. Hammill said the department's strategic plan will continue to guide its activities, and new strategies will be implemented to address critical issues with industry sectors.
"The department is committed to improving the level of satisfaction of our agriculture and forestry clients. New directions are called for and will be taken," said Mr. Hammill. "I commend staff of the department for their exceptional efforts. They have been working hard with fewer resources to deliver quality services and programs to our clients."
Mr. Hammill said the forthcoming trade mission to Cuba is one way the department can assist the agri-food and forest industries to identify and act upon new market opportunities. Other initiatives include seed potato market development in Ukraine, the establishment of a Maritime beef marketing strategy and hosting incoming trade missions for value-added wood products. He said changes in the department to improve services to clients in marketing and business development will be introduced in the coming fiscal year.