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$165.7M Agricultural clean technology program invites funding applications

The federal government has opened applications to the new $165.7-million Agricultural Clean Technology Program.

Announced last week, this new program provides farmers and agri-businesses with access to funding to help develop and adopt the latest clean technologies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhance their competitiveness.

The new program has two funding streams:

• The Adoption Stream will support the purchase and installation of proven clean technologies and solutions that show meaningful reductions in GHG emissions.
• The Research and Innovation Stream will support pre-market innovation including research, development, demonstration and commercialization of agricultural clean technologies.

The two-step intake process to apply launched last week.

The program’s two-step application process includes first submitting a Project Summary Form, which will help to determine a project’s eligibility and alignment with program criteria and priorities. Those successful at this stage will be invited to submit a full application.

Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis until funding has been fully committed or otherwise announced by the program.

Eligible activities

The program will focus on three priority areas: green energy and energy efficiency; precision agriculture; and the bioeconomy.

Eligible energy projects under the adoption stream include the purchase and installation of energy-efficient, low-emissions equipment, technologies to power farms with clean energy (for example, fuel switching, such as conversion from diesel), energy-efficient watering or heating systems, and more. Examples of eligible bioeconomy solutions include anaerobic digesters for processing agricultural waste into bioenergy and bio-product boiler systems for heating greenhouses and nurseries. Also eligible are solutions that use agri-based products, such as bioplastics.

The program will allocate $10 million towards powering farms with clean energy and moving off diesel.

The Adoption Stream will focus its support on projects valued at $50,000 or more of total eligible project costs. The maximum amount payable to a recipient is not expected to exceed $2 million per project. The program will contribute a maximum of 50 per cent for for-profit applicants, 75 per cent for not-for-profit applicants, and 60 per cent for where the majority of the business is owned or led by one or more under-represented groups (women, youth, Indigenous, visible minorities, persons with disabilities).

For more information about eligibility and to apply, visit Agricultural Clean Technology Program: Research and Innovation Stream or Agricultural Clean Technology Program: Adoption Stream.

“Canadian farmers are good stewards of the land and leaders in sustainable agriculture. In the face of this new climate reality and the expectations of Canadian and foreign consumers who want to know that their food has been sustainably produced, we must double down on our efforts, particularly by investing in the development and adoption of energy-efficient technologies. Together, we will grow our agricultural sector in an even more sustainable way,” says Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada estimates that this program has the potential to reduce up to 1 megaton of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide equivalent) from the Earth’s atmosphere.