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By Erika Rolling/EverythingGP

Agriculture

Feds and province launch new Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership in April

Mar 28, 2023 | 1:14 PM

A new $508 million funding partnership between the federal and provincial governments is set to replace the expiring CAP.

The Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership will have funding over the next five years to support the needs of Alberta’s agriculture sector through grants.

Compared to the old program, there is an increase of $500 million in cost-sharing across the country.

In total, the Sustainable CAP is a five-year, $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to support Canada’s agri-food and agri-products sectors with $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5-billion commitment through cost-sharing of 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.

The aim of the partnership through the province’s programs is to boost job growth and add value to our agri-sector by attracting new investment, bringing in value-added processing competition, and expanding irrigation capacity for crop production to rise.

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Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Nate Horner said in a news release, “The new Sustainable CAP provides flexibility to deliver programs that will help producers grow their business and improve productivity while addressing the unique challenges of farming in Alberta. Alberta’s producers are among the best in the world when it comes to sustainable practices, and we will continue to support their efforts to feed the world while protecting the environment for generations to come.”

Protecting plant and animal welfare and health programming will stay in place with Sustainable CAP.

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Marie Claude-Bibeau said in the same release, “The Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership is an ambitious way forward while we collaborate to ensure economic, environmental and social success for the sector. This historic investment will help producers and processors in Alberta to innovate, to grow, to prosper and to be competitive.”

The Sustainable CAP comes into effect on April 1, and funding announcements are expected to begin on April 3 for seven programs.

An eighth program, the Resiliency and Public Trust Program is expected to launch in Fall 2023 and applications will be for “projects that focus on assurance, food sustainability, risk management, youth ag education, mental health or industry governance,” according to the province’s website.