New programs under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership will support economic recovery and growth, and reduce red tape.
New programs
Six programs are open and accepting applications:
- Agriculture and Food Sustainability Assurance Initiatives
- Youth Agriculture Education
- Value-Added
- On-Farm Value-Added
- Emerging Opportunities
- Farm Technology.
Agriculture and Food Sustainability Assurance Initiatives
Assurance initiatives are in place so the public can learn more about industry practices and standards. They allow farmers and food companies to demonstrate the quality, safety and sustainability of their products. This program provides support to develop and enhance sustainability certification or assurance initiatives and to assist promoting the initiative to farmers and food processors.
This program is open to not-for-profit organizations, agricultural groups registered under the Societies Act, commodity groups and industry-led non-profit assurance initiatives.
Youth Agriculture Education
This program supports the development and delivery of effective agriculture education programs that are science-based, topic-driven and curricular-linked. It will help students think critically as they engage in meaningful and informed conversations about issues that affect public trust in agriculture.
This program is open to not-for-profit organizations, agricultural groups registered under the Societies Act, commodity groups, universities or colleges, school districts and recognized forms of rural municipal government in Alberta.
Value-Added
The purpose of the program is to support growth of Alberta’s value-added food and bio-industrial processors and projects that create jobs and enable business growth through increased sales and market expansion.
This program is open to bio-industrial processors or food processors registered and operating in Alberta.
On-Farm Value-Added
This program supports Alberta producers to add value to agricultural products on farm, resulting in the creation of jobs and farm business growth through increased sales and market expansion.
This program is open to primary producers who are adding value past harvest or slaughter of the agricultural product on their Alberta farm.
Emerging Opportunities
This program’s purpose is to enable growth, pursue new markets and diversify Alberta’s value-added industries through development and commercialization of new and/or emerging opportunities in the Alberta agriculture, agri-processing and agri-based products sector. The program will support the creation of jobs and invest in diversifying the sector, increasing exports and increasing demand of agricultural inputs and services in Alberta.
This program is open to processors operating in Alberta, agri-businesses and industry organizations, which can include not-for-profit agencies, boards, commissions, associations, Indigenous governments and communities, or societies operating in Alberta.
Farm Technology
Farm security is a growing concern in the province. The program will support producers in protecting their business and securing their business assets by encouraging the adoption of best management practices in farm security. The program also supports the adoption of innovative technology that minimizes agricultural waste and optimizes farm efficiency. This program is open to primary producers operating in Alberta.
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a 5-year, $3 billion federal-provincial-territorial investment in the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products sector that began in April, 2018. In Alberta, it represents a federal-provincial investment of $406 million in strategic programs and initiatives for the agricultural sector.
Source : alberta