Appendix 2. Summary of Related Planning Processes

Human Resource Management Plan

The ministry has implemented a comprehensive human resource management plan to address the immediate and long-term human resource needs to deliver this service plan. The ministry will carry out the plan within the context of the following vision and strategies:

Vision:

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries is committed to a supportive, rewarding and motivating work environment where employees are valued and service excellence is achieved.

It encompasses the following broad strategies:

Effective People Strategy

• Developing effective recruitment and retention strategies to enable the ministry to deliver on its service plan objectives.

Proactive and Visionary Leadership

• Developing leaders in the workforce who will continue to expand on the vision for the public service of the future.

Performance Focused Workplace

• Establishing and implementing performance-based systems that ensure the ministry is achieving its service plan objectives in the most efficient and effective manner.

Flexible and Motivating Work Environment

• Establishing and implementing options for flexible work environments to ensure maximum physical and emotional well-being.
• Providing opportunities for career development.

Learning and Innovative Organization

• Implementing personal learning plans for employees to maintain and improve their expertise.

Progressive Employee-Employer Relations

• Promoting ongoing regular communications between executive, managers and staff to maximize feedback and develop a relationship of trust and mutual respect.

Information Resource Management Plan

Strategic Direction

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries has adopted the following strategies:

• Provide web-enabled service delivery where feasible so the public can access more information electronically while allowing staff to respond to relevant client inquiries.
• Manage within a more limited budget with creative approaches in office computer systems.
• Use common information technology, infrastructure and management concepts to ensure stable, secure, and functional computer systems.

Major Projects

• Further expansion of InfoBasket: The ministry's award-winning portal, InfoBasket, will continue to be expanded with the addition of more business focus areas addressing specific commodity groups. The site now has sheep and lambs, specialty crops, bison, agroforestry, micro-food processors, as well as organics and ornamentals.
• Replacement of aging computerized licensing systems: The ministry will continue with projects to replace its aging commercial fisheries and aquaculture licensing systems. During fiscal /03, the requirements phase was undertaken with design and build phases planned for 2004/05. The intent is to use the ministry's common licensing system as much as possible for all the licences it issues.

Climate Change

B.C. is working with the federal government as part of the Agricultural Policy Framework agreement to meet a target for the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Under the agreement, Canada and B.C. have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by eight per cent from the estimated baseline in 2008 if business continued as usual. As the ministry implements the Agricultural Policy Framework, it will develop supporting strategies to reach the proposed target.

Risks

The threat of climate change poses several risks to the agriculture, food and fisheries sectors:

• changes in cropping patterns/potential reductions in dryland crop yield potential
• potential increases in crop damage
• water shortages in some areas and potential excess supply in other areas
• changes in the interactions among crops, weeds, insects, and disease
• increased potential for greater fluctuations in weather patterns with more severe and frequent extremes (e.g., storms, or droughts) which may increase the occurrence of weather/climate related disasters and lead to crop and farm structure related losses.

Opportunities

• access to federal program funding including the environmental farm planning program and the green cover program
• growing different crop varieties to respond to climate change
• potential to increase crop yields, provided water supply can be supplemented by irrigation
• expansion of crop and livestock production in (currently) cooler more northern areas
• expand carbon sequestration through improved management practices
• trading of carbon sequestered in agricultural soils.

		Strategic Directions