Canadian Agricultural Partnership: Federal activities and programs

Melanie ConsCanadian Farm News

Federally-funded activities and programs to support sector growth focus on three key areas:

Federal program details and application forms are now available on the program web pages linked below. Funding will begin April 1, 2018.

Growing trade and expanding markets

Helping the sector meet the Government’s ambitious goal to grow Canada’s agriculture and food exports to $75 billion by 2025. Providing core industry services, such as timely market information and sector expertise, helps improve the sector’s competitiveness, growth and adaptability.Advancing and defending international trade interests, as well as improving market development and market access activities to address emerging needs of the sector, and of small and medium enterprises (SME), will help expand markets and trading opportunities for the sector.

AgriMarketing Program
A five-year, up to $121 million federal initiative to help the industry increase and diversify exports to international markets and seize market opportunities. The program supports industry-led promotional activities that differentiate Canadian products and producers, and leverage Canada’s reputation for high quality and safe food. The program also helps some sectors maintain their domestic market.

The AgriMarketing program offers funding through two components:

  • AgriMarketing Program: National Industry Association – Funding provided will assist industry associations address a market access issue, develop a new market, or expand or maintain an existing market, through activities such as: industry-wide advertising and promotion, exploratory missions, market research, participation in industry meetings or trade shows. Open to not-for-profit organizations in the agriculture, agri-food, agri-based products sector, including fish and seafood, operating on either a national or regional basis.
  • AgriMarketing Program: Small and medium-sized enterprises – Funding provided will assist for-profit organizations expand into international markets through activities such as marketing and advertising, food service promotions, trade seminars, technical training for buyers, market development. Open to for-profit organizations operating in the agriculture, agri-food, agri-based products sector, including fish and seafood, such as businesses and corporations, co-operatives, and Indigenous organizations.

AgriCompetitiveness Program
A five-year, up to $20.5 million program to assist industry-led efforts to provide producers with information needed to build capacity and support the sector’s development. Funding will support sector-led activities such as farmer-oriented seminars, and conferences that identify industry best practices and build the capacity of the sector, farm business management, farm safety information and tools, as well as activities which raise agricultural awareness. Open to not-for-profit organizations including associations in Canada and Indigenous organizations.

Innovative and sustainable growth in the sector

Enhancing the competitiveness of the sector through research, science and innovation, and adoption of innovative products and practices, with an emphasis on sustainable and clean growth. The Government will help support the resiliency and sustainability of the sector, helping farmers adapt to climate change, conserve water and soil resources, and grow their businesses sustainably to meet increasing global food demand sustainably.

AgriScience Program
A five-year, up to $338 million initiative to support leading edge discovery and applied science, and innovation driven by industry research priorities. Designed to accelerate the pace of innovation, the program supports pre-commercialization activities and invests in cutting-edge research to benefit the agricultural and agri-food sector.

The AgriScience program offers funding through two components:

  • AgriScience Program – Clusters: Funding provided will support industry-led and commodity specific science and research projects that address priority themes and horizontal issues, and coordinate research activities across Canada. Clusters are required to address environment and climate change issues unique to their sector and are encouraged to support research dissemination, extension and decision support tools for producers. Open to not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous groups in the agriculture, agri-food, agri-based products sector. Note: Application intake for the Clusters component has now closed.
  • AgriScience Program – Projects: Funding provided will support specific shorter-term science projects to help industry overcome challenges and address fiscal barriers experienced by small and emerging sectors. Project activities must address key industry and government priorities. Open to not-for-profit organizations and for-profit organizations, Indigenous groups in the agriculture, agri-food, agri-based products sector.

AgriInnovate Program
A five-year, up to $128 million initiative to accelerate the demonstration, commercialization, and/or adoption of innovative agri-based products, technologies, processes or services that increase agri-sector competitiveness and sustainability. The program will provide repayable contributions on projects that:

  • demonstrate a recently proven innovation
  • adopt new or world-leading agricultural products, technologies or services in clean technology, automation or robotics, and precision agriculture
  • introduce significant improvement to the value-added sector
  • provide new opportunities, or expand existing export opportunities

Open to for-profit organizations operating in the agriculture, agri-food, agri-based products sector such as businesses and corporations, co-operatives, and Indigenous organizations.

Supporting diversity and a dynamic, evolving sector

Strengthening the sector by better reflecting the diversity of our communities, enhancing collaboration across different jurisdictions, securing and supporting public trust in the sector, and improving client services.

AgriDiversity Program
A five-year, up to $5 million initiative to help under-represented groups in Canadian agriculture, including youth, women, Indigenous Peoples, and persons with disabilities to fully participate in the sector. Open to not-for-profit organizations including associations in Canada, Indigenous organizations, and Official Language Minority Communities. It will strengthen the sector and build its capacity by:

  • helping diverse groups to develop their skills to take a greater leadership role
  • building the entrepreneurial capacity and business skills of under-represented groups (such as Indigenous communities, youth, women and persons with disabilities)
  • facilitating the sharing of industry experience, best practices and knowledge, to help under-represented groups to manage transformation
  • strengthening the sector by incorporating the views of a more diverse set of industry players

AgriAssurance Program 
A five-year, up to $74 million federal initiative to foster public trust by helping industry develop and adopt systems, standards and tools that enable them to make credible, meaningful and verifiable claims about the health and safety of Canadian agricultural and agri-food products, and the manner in which they are produced.

The AgriAssurance program offers funding through two components:

  • AgriAssurance Program: National Industry Association – Funding provided will assist industry associations develop assurance systems, standards or tools, such as: food safety, animal and plant health surveillance, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, traceability, quality standards, market attributes, food defense, and system integration. Not-for-profit organizations in the agriculture, agri-food, agri-based products sector, including fish and seafood, can apply under this component.
  • AgriAssurance Program: Small and medium-sized enterprises – Funding provided will assist for-profit organizations obtain third-party certification when it is required to meet an export opportunity. Open to for-profit organizations operating in the agriculture, agri-food, agri-based products sector, including fish and seafood, such as businesses and corporations, co-operatives, and Indigenous organizations.

Federally-funded activities

These three key areas include $686.5 million over five years in federal programs and $467 million of federally-funded activities that directly benefit producers and processors and address priorities identified by the agricultural sector during consultations in the development of the framework. These investments will support trade policy and market access, trade commissioners, market development, market information, value chain roundtables, foundational science led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and support for regulatory systems and regional collaboration.

Learn more about the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.