Farm Credit Canada says it will invest $2 billion into agtech innovation by 2030.
“Until now, investment dollars have been scarce and have not scaled to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of the sector,” said FCC president Justine Hendricks in a news release.
The cash comes through FCC’s investment arm, FCC Capital, launched in 2024. It will be directed toward technology and practices designed to improve efficiency, productivity and sustainability.
In 2024, FCC Capital closed nine direct investment deals totaling $170 million, invested in three new funds, and added a business accelerator to its portfolio, the news release said.
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Those investments included Catalera BioSolutions, a Vancouver firm that produces bio-pesticides and other agricultural biologicals.
Canada has historically struggled with a lack of venture capital for agriculture and food companies.
More FCC direct investment is needed in Canada because the amount of cash deployed to technology firms — including the agriculture/agri-food sector — has dropped, Graeme Millen, FCC Capital’s vice president of strategic finance and business development, told the Western Producer in September.
However, that’s begun to turn around, Millen said.
“Over the last eight months we’re seeing an incredible amount of interest from international … and really high calibre investors in agriculture and food as a category and Canada as a market,” Millen said.
“It is truly a generational opportunity for Canada to respond to the market need … the global demand for more food.”
