Posted on October 19, 2004

Canadian Soil Calls Out To Indian Farmers

PTI, Oct. 16

KOLKATA: Canada is looking for Indian farmers to take over hundreds of farm houses in the North American country deserted by ageing owners who have either switched livelihoods or migrated to their children’s homes in bigger cities.

Immigration firms from Quebec and the port province of Nova-Scotia, to scout for entrepreneurs, said on Friday that there was a huge dearth of horticultural, agricultural and livestock farmers in Canada.

“Many farms are lying vacant and need to be filled up. We welcome Indian farmers who can use these idle properties to turn them into profit-making ventures,” Sam Buffone, Vice President of Renaissance Capital Inc of Quebec told a press meet in Kolkata.

Buffone said that they would tap India, China and smaller Asian countries for potential farmers willing to immigrate to Canada.

Michael Mailman, Vice-President of another immigration firm Cornwallis Financial Corporation from the Nova-Scotia province of Canada, said the immigration of Indian entrepreneurs to the North American country was concentrated in bigger cities like Toronto and Vancouver at present.

“But most growth opportunities lie in smaller centres and Indian farmers must tap that. The provincial governments have also announced lucrative tax holidays and subsidisation schemes to lure the business community,” he said.

The duo who covered seven Indian cities including a few down south, said farmers with a minimum qualification of standard 12, a net asset worth of Rs one crore and 50 per cent carry-along capacity would be considered for the scheme.