The Government of Ontario has announced a $260,305.50 investment through the ROD program (Rural Ontario Development) to strengthen rural economies and support their workers in Peterborough and the Kawarthas.
This support is part of a $20 million total investment from the Ontario government to assist projects in communities province-wide.
Minister of Rural Affairs Lisa Thompson said that projects funded through the ROD program will help to foster long-term community growth.
Through the program’s first intake, a number of local projects received funding, including Innovation Cluster’s Rural Innovation Centre Project, Community Care Peterborough’s Rural Peterborough County Transportation Feasibility Study, the City of Peterborough’s Future Ready Peterborough: Economic Development Strategy, Farms at Work’s Peterborough Community Farm Business Plan and the County of Peterborough’s Trade-Ready: Equipping Rural Entrepreneurs to compete Beyond the Region project.
During ROD’s first intake, a total of $5.5 million was invested across 116 projects in rural Ontario.
Farms at Work Community Farm Planner Andrea Hicks told PTBOToday that the over $15,300 they received has helped kickstart the organization’s community farm project.
Equipping local entrepreneurs with the tools to grow their businesses will create job opportunities in our rural communities, said Peterborough County Warden Bonnie Clark.
Minister Thompson also announced that the ROD program’s third intake will open to applicants on August 17.
(Written by: Felicia Massey)
