New federal program will invest $50M to support competitiveness in Canada’s agricultural sector

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay has announced a new funding initiative called the Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program (CASPP), which will distribute $50.3 million over five years to Canada’s agricultural sector. CASPP addresses four key areas: technology adoption, such as AI tools; environmental sustainability; strategic development and capacity building, including future labour and skills needs; and emerging issues, like changing consumer preferences. CASPP joins other recent federal funding initiatives for the agricultural sector, among them the $3-billion, five-year Canadian Agricultural Partnership, $70 million from Budget 2018 for science and innovation addressing climate change, and the $25 million Agricultural Clean Technologies Program announced last March. Applicants to CASPP can apply at any time, until the funds have all been invested.

READ MORE: Feds, industry invest $67.7M  to support field crop science (January 15, 2019)