PM announces money for N.W.T. farm training institute

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in Fort Smith, N.W.T., Friday his government is prepared to invest up to $4 million to help Northerners grow their own food.

Harper made the announcement duringhis second stop on this year's northern tour.

Of the money, $2 million will go towards building a permanent campus for the Northern Farm Training Institute in Hay River, N.W.T.

"We're already seeing Northern ingenuity Canadian ingenuity confounding conventional wisdom by finding ways to produce fruit and vegetables in unconventional places," Harper said.

"There is now commercial potato farming in Norman Wells. There is a thriving farmers' market in Yellowknife. There are even greenhouses in Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk north of the Arctic Circle."

The money will allow the two-year-old school run programs year-round. Its permanent campus will be on about 120 hectaresof farmland with greenhouses, offices and classrooms.

Harper also announced about $2million in funding to help design year-round commercial greenhouses for Northern communities.