A new, five-year agreement between the governments of Canada and Ontario will provide upwards of $1.77 billion in support for the province’s agri-food sector over the life of the agreement.
The governments have negotiated a Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) agreement that will see $569 million invested in strategic initiatives, a 25 per cent increase over the previous funding agreement, according to a news release from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) March 1. The ministry said there will also be roughly $1.2 billion available for continued, demand-driven, business risk management supports for farmers.
Sustainable CAP will also boost investments in research and innovation and other strategic areas to strengthen the sector. The agreement will include the launch of the new Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP), a funding initiative to mitigate climate change and support the agricultural sector in better addressing sustainability outcomes.
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“The Sustainable CAP is a collaborative effort by the governments of Canada and Ontario to invest in sustainable agriculture, ensure the resilience of production and supply chains and grow the agriculture and food sectors in Ontario,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, in the release.
Lisa Thompson, Ontario’s minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said the province’s agri-food sector plays an “invaluable role” and “this agreement will create new opportunities to make this world-class sector even stronger and position it to sustainably grow during and well beyond the term of this pact.”
The agreement will provide a range of investments that will help improve productivity, competitiveness and resilience in this key area of the economy and enable the
The Sustainable CAP starts on April 1, 2023 and replaces the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership). The programs will support the vision and priorities the federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers agreed to in 2021 in The Guelph Statement.
The Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) is a five-year (2023-2028), $3.5-billion investment by federal‐provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of the agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and $2.5 billion in cost-shared programs and activities by federal, provincial and territorial governments.
Details about Sustainable CAP funding opportunities and programming will be posted online as they become available.
