Third party delivery key to success of government-funded environmental education

Government-funded environmental education for farmers has seen success thanks in large part to a third party delivery strategy, according to Andrew Graham.

Graham is a program manager for the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA), a group aimed at communicating and facilitating economic, responsible management of soil, water, air and crops.

Since 2005, the association has offered an environmental education program in association with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, to almost 11,000 farmers.

Graham says delegating a third party to deliver the education as well as cost-share programs is a major strategic move employed by the federal and provincial agriculture departments for successfully engaging farmers in environmental best practices. 

Graham points out that the OSCIA has been around since the late 1930s and has been engaged in environmental program development and delivery since about the mid 1980s.

“We’ve established quite a niche. Environmental program development and delivery is one of the major things we do,” he says, adding the association delivers programs to not only its own members but to all producers across the province regardless of sector, size, farming philosophy or location.

“That in itself is a strategic move by the government because we are currently in place, we have demonstrated our ability and responsibility on the educational front as well as the cost-share front.”

A centerpiece of OSCIA activity is the Canada Ontario Environmental Farm Plan (EFP), a voluntary educational program for farm families delivered through local workshops.

Farmers complete an environmental assessment plan, which is peer-reviewed, and, if it is deemed appropriate, allows them to participate in cost-share programs such as Greencover Canada, which is an initiative to help producers improve land management practices, promote sustainable land use, protect water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Of the 11,000 farmers who have completed the educational program since 2005, 8,000 have satisfied the eligibility requirements for participating in cost-share programs.

“There is no question that we have very successfully engaged the farm community in the voluntary programs we offer on behalf of federal, provincial and farm organization partners,” says Graham.

The association is also garnering a growing list of partners including the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation. OSCIA delivers cost-share opportunities, made available by these foundations, to farmers, on top of the federal offerings.

For more information about OSCIA, see www.ontariosoilcrop.org.