Agriculture Minister David Marit won his local riding
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
With the provincial election behind him, one of Premier-elect Scott Moe’s next steps is to form his cabinet for the upcoming legislative session.
Most of the ministers in Moe’s cabinet prior to the election call won their respective home ridings – including David Marit, who served as minister of agriculture.
“My supporters really came through for me and it was quite humbling to see the numbers we did,” he told Farms.com. “It’s an honour to serve the constituents of Wood River.”
Premier Moe will ultimately determine who becomes Saskatchewan’s next ag minister.
One of the first items on the ag minister’s docket will be the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers of Agriculture annual conference this month.
Industry stakeholders have voiced the topics they would like to see addressed at the meeting, Marit said.
There are challenges with “business risk management on the value-added and processing side” of the industry, he said. “We know there were challenges in the livestock sector, so that’s why we implemented the set-aside program for beef cattle and buffalo.”
One piece of advice Marit has for the minister of agriculture, if it is a new person, is to engage with industry reps on a regular basis.
Checking in with farmers and other members of the ag sector can help the minister understand what issues need to be addressed in the legislature, he said.
“Even if it’s just on a monthly basis to see what some of the concerns are,” Marit suggested. “We’re always looking for companies or industry stakeholders to help guide (the legislative process) in the province of Saskatchewan.”
As of Oct. 29, the Saskatchewan Party holds 48 seats and the NDP occupies 13.
More mail-in ballots need to be counted, so the final election results may not be known until the weekend.
David Marit/Government of Saskatchewan photo