This week, Manitoba is celebrating agriculture and locally-produced food. The province announced Monday this would be the first-ever Farm and Food Awareness Week, with several events in celebration, including an organic banquet in Winnipeg on Saturday.

"This is a start of a number of things, but really, this is about growing and retaining the food business, and by finalizing the food processing sector to reach Manitoba's target of $5.5 billion in processing industry goals, and working with existing businesses to accelerate growth, and creating online resources and tools to support the food business," says Manitoba Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn.

Approximately 32,000 jobs in Manitoba are in the agriculture and agri-food industries, contributing $3.6 billion to the provincial economy. Kostyshyn says this week highlights the positive impact agriculture has on Manitobans everyday.

"I guess I often refer to this as added value — what we have today, what we grow locally, and how we can put additional businesses and opportunities to continue to grow our economy in the province of Manitoba," he says.

Earlier this week was also Open Farm Day, inviting Manitoba consumers to learn about how their food is made, and on Tuesday, training took place in Stonewall for entrepreneurs wanting compete in the Great Manitoba Food Fight.