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Federal government invests in British Columbia agri-businesses

The Canadian government has announced federal support for four new projects related to developing and adopting clean technology by agri-businesses in British Columbia.

The investment of nearly $1.6-million under the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) Program aims to help farmers increase their competitiveness and reduce their carbon footprints while allowing innovators to develop new technologies.

Lucent BioSciences Inc., at Simon Fraser University, is receiving up to $1,333,761 under the ACT – Research and Innovation Stream to develop natural-based, nonpolluting micronutrients suitable for seed coating. “This solution aims to help improve crop yields and will lead to more efficient use of fertilizer by reducing runoff of the main ingredients in most fertilizers, known as NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium),” government officials said in a March 15 news release.

In addition to the funding to Lucent Bio, projects announced today under the ACT – Adoption Stream include:

• up to $70,457 for B JACK Farms in Abbotsford to install a solar system and electric-powered farm equipment to reduce reliance on the electrical grid and gasoline fuel in the egg production process;
• up to $108,876 for Blueberry Junction in Abbotsford to install a solar system to reduce electrical grid consumption for their blueberry operation; and
• up to $61,247 for Fresh Valley Farms in Armstrong to install a solar system and an electrical pivot irrigation system on their organic farm to reduce reliance on the electrical grid and gasoline fuel usage.

With these new investments, the government says, the ACT Program has supported 11 projects in British Columbia, representing a total of up to nearly $4.9 million.