Canada’s organic agricultural industry will benefit from more than $8 million in research and innovation funding.
The funding announcement was made at Mara’s Wild Flight Farms, a certified organic 20-acre vegetable farm, where federal Agriculture and Agri-food Minister Lawrence MacAulay was visiting Friday morning, Aug. 24, as part of his Growing Canadian Agricultural Tour.
According to a federal news release, the ministry is investing up to $8.3 million to the Organic Federation of Canada to ensure the country’s organic sector “continues to grow and meet consumer demands.”
As the demand for #organic food grows, our government continues to invest in organic farming. Today we announced almost $300k in funding to support the Canadian Organic Standards that will increase the industry’s competitiveness & help us meet our export goal of $75B by 2025! pic.twitter.com/oaAMyOb2Og
— Lawrence MacAulay (@L_MacAulay) August 24, 2018
“This research investment, which includes an additional $4.4 million in contributions from industry, will help the organic sector enhance productivity through better soil health and fertility management, advance crop breeding research, improve pest management, and evaluate the environmental impacts of organic farm practices,” states the release.
The minister also announced an additional $292,555 investment with the Organic Federation of Canada under the federal Canadian Agricultural Adaptation program. This funding will “assist industry in streamlining the review process of the Canadian Organic Standards and improve the Canadian organic industry’s competitiveness and international market access.”
“Demand for our world-class Canadian organic products continues to grow around the world and our government is proud to support our organic farmers and food processors so they can meet that demand,” commented MacAulay. “Today’s significant investment into the science of organic agriculture will help our organic farmers grow more and grow better. And, we are pleased to support the Canadian Organic Standards, which are the backbone of the organic industry.”
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