Young farmers say the industry is essential in addressing food insecurity issues in the province, but it’s difficult as consumers are not the only ones dealing with rising costs and inflation.

Nelson Fagan, a cattle farmer and owner of Fagan Meats, says local farmers are key to addressing food insecurity but says the financial burden is limiting the industry.

He’d like to see a greater local production of beef and lamb, but high costs are preventing those farms from taking off.

He says grain and wheat for animals is not produced locally and it has become more expensive to import those essentials into the province. With those extra costs, they have no choice but to increase the price of their products.

Meanwhile the provincial government says they’re hoping to grow the agriculture industry.

Minister Gerry Byrne announced an additional $2 million in funding at the Agriculture Symposium held in St. John’s last night.

The funding is meant to provide farmers with support to meet the demands as the industry continues to see rapid growth.

Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture President Wayne Simmons says they’ve seen tremendous growth in recent years.

Simmons says they had a goal to double local root crop food production, which was achieved this year at 20 per cent. While there’s room to expand, he says agriculture is “alive and well” across the province.