Government of Canada invests $30 million in six not-for-profit organizations to help accelerate clean technology innovation across Canadian agriculture

May 08, 2026

Toronto, Ontario – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Canadian agri-businesses are leading the way in creating new solutions to reduce emissions and make agriculture more resilient. The Government of Canada is supporting this effort by working with Canadian non-for-profit agtech organizations to help science-focused small- and medium-sized businesses develop innovative technologies that grow the economy, while protecting the environment.

Today, Danielle Martin, Member of Parliament for University–Rosedale, on behalf of the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced up to $30 million in funding over the next two years for the Agricultural Clean Technology Program Research and Innovation Stream – Accelerator (ACT Accelerator). This investment will support Canadian start-ups and agri-food organizations in developing and demonstrating cutting-edge clean technologies to advance sustainability in agriculture.

The following six not-for-profit organizations will launch their own application intake periods and redistribute funding to eligible projects that will advance the development of clean technology for adoption in agriculture across Canada:

Bioenterprise Canada Corporation
Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN)
Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN)
MaRS Discovery District
Ontario Genomics
Zone Agtech

These six ACT Accelerator investments will help ensure that Canadian producers and agri-food businesses have access to a wider range of advanced technologies, contributing to a more competitive and climate-friendly sector.

Source : Canada.ca

Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.