Governments support projects to improve Ontario farms’ competitiveness
Woodstock — The governments of Canada and Ontario are helping farmers improve their business operations so they can continue to play an important role in boosting the province’s economy and producing some of the safest, highest quality foods in the world.
The governments have committed up to $10.8 million in cost-share funding to eligible farmers and agri-food businesses to complete more than 740 projects to enhance their businesses. Funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership), these initiatives support improvements in areas such as enhanced traceability systems, upgrades to animal-handling equipment and strengthened biosecurity measures.
Some examples of projects supported through this programming include:
- New technologies to improve the housing of farm animals;
- New products to support retaining, growing or finding new markets for farm commodities;
- Improving the food safety-traceability systems on farms to meet or exceed international certification standards.
“Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, we are supporting farmers to build an even stronger, more innovative and sustainable sector,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Investing in on-farm innovation and improvements helps ensure our farmers continue to meet growing consumer demands for our safe, high-quality food while also increasing the sector’s capacity to compete at home and internationally.”
“Our government is committed to making our agricultural and agri-food sector open for business,” said Ernie Hardeman, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. “Investing in these projects will help our farmers succeed while boosting innovation, productivity, and competitiveness for the entire sector.”
Since June 2018, both the federal and provincial governments have committed cost-share support to almost 1,900 projects through the Partnership to help eligible Ontario farmers, processors, businesses and sector organizations innovate and grow.
Quick Facts
- The Partnership is a five-year, $3-billion commitment by Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments that supports Canada’s agri-food and agri-products sectors.
- This cost-share funding is supporting projects in the following key priority areas:
- Economic development in the agri-food and agri-products sectors.
- Environmental stewardship to enhance water quality and soil health.
- Protection and assurance to reinforce the foundation for public trust in the sector through improved assurance systems in food safety and plant and animal health.
- More than 740 projects were approved following a competitive, merit-based application intake that took place from March 5 to May 6, 2019.
- In Ontario, cost-share programming to support farmers and other businesses through the Partnership is delivered by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA).
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