Poultry farmers located in Ontario, Canada will soon benefit from a Commercial Deal Accelerator designed to help support the growth of food production in the province thanks to funding from the Ontario and Canadian governments.
“This initiative will strengthen the sector’s ability to quickly bring innovation to market. Our Government is pleased to help ensure that Ontario’s high quality agri-food products continue to drive our economy and create good middle-class jobs,” Marie-Claude Bibeau, the Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, said.
Cost-sharing funding
Ontario Agri-Food Technologies (OAFT) will receive $100,000 in cost-share funding from the Canadian and Ontario governments to research, design and launch a pilot program that brings together corporations, start-ups and investors. OAFT is a not-for-profit ag tech accelerator located in Guelph, Ontario.
The project – funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership – will help deliver faster and enhanced early-stage innovation commercialization to ag tech entrepreneurs in Ontario. The Partnership supports projects that promote economic development in agriculture, environmental stewardship and improved assurance systems in food safety and plant and animal health.
"Innovation is key to all aspects of agriculture, including how we commercialize new technologies. Importantly, the governments' support will help Ontario maintain its leadership role in the ag-tech ecosystem, thus supporting a primary economic driver of this province and country,” Tyler Whale, the President of OAFT, explained.
Innovation and collaboration
In November 2019, the government of Ontario committed more than $6.5 million in funding to food processors and other agri-food businesses to support more than 100 food safety, labor productivity and waste reduction projects.
The federal and provincial governments in Canada have provided cost-share support to approximately 2,500 projects aimed at helping farmers, processors, businesses and sector organizations innovate and grow.
"Ontario's agri-food and agri-tech entrepreneurs have always been leaders who find success through innovation and collaboration. Our government is pleased to help them continue to be successful by supporting this exciting new project through the Partnership,” Ernie Hardeman, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Farms, explained.
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