The Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership) is a five-year commitment by Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments that supports Canada’s agri-food and agri-products sectors.

Strategic initiatives support projects in three key priority areas, with research and innovation continuing to be a key focus across all programming :

Programming is targeted to deliver the most impactful results to address key priority areas under the Partnership.

Protection and assurance programming

Ontario’s agri-food sector needs to manage food safety risks and the health of animals and plants while being competitive. Protection and assurance programming under the Partnership provides support to industry and individual businesses to keep pace with changing assurance systems, rapidly evolving risk, changing marketplace expectations and increasing consumer demand for greater transparency; and ultimately sustain and grow their businesses.

Cost-share funding for protection and assurance targets three priority areas : food safety, animal health and plant health. Programming may benefit businesses that are working towards achieving the following outcomes :

Food safety

  • Prevention or reduction of food safety hazards.
  • Proactive approaches to address existing and emerging risks.
  • Increasing businesses’ competitiveness, and consumer confidence.

Animal health

  • Prevention, detection, and mitigation of risks from animal disease threats and promotion of farmed animal welfare through the value chain.
  • Effectively managing antimicrobial use in agricultural animals.
  • Supporting livestock and poultry producers in Ontario to be competitive, productive and profitable.

Plant health

  • Proactively managing Ontario’s plant agriculture resource base through the implementation of positive actions by the supply chain.
  • Increased ability of the plant agriculture supply chain to prepare for emergencies and climate change.
  • Increased coordination and capacity among all plant health partners.

Protection and Assurance Activities provide additional outcomes (co-benefits), including:

  • increased public trust in Ontario’s food safety brand
  • increased public trust in Ontario’s farmed animal handling practices
  • improved water quality, soil and pollinator health
  • improved preparedness for climate change adaptation

Who can apply

Farmers, processors, other businesses across the value chain (for example, commingling facilities, custom applicators, suppliers), organizations and collaborations, academic institutions, scientific and research communities and Northern Ontario communities.

When to apply

Application intakes for famers, processors and other businesses will be scheduled at different times between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2023. Visit ontario.ca/agpartnership for program details, guidebooks, application details and intake dates.

Application details, intake dates, program details and guidebooks for the Place to grow : agri-food innovation initiative.

Protection and assurance project categories

Food safety

  • Food safety and traceability gap assessment and pre-audit.
  • Food safety and traceability training.
  • Food safety and traceability equipment.
  • Food safety and traceability system improvements.
  • Applied research, pilot projects and demonstrations.
  • Group food safety program adoption.
  • Traceability solutions adoption, information management and sharing.
  • Skills development and training.

Animal health

  • Education, training, assessment and planning.
  • Preventing the introduction and spread of disease:
    • defining zones and controlled access points
    • establishing cleaning and disinfecting practices
    • establishing isolation and segregation facilities
    • preventing access by wildlife, pests and rodents
    • health management
    • establishing facilities to manage deadstock
  • Improvements to animal housing and handling:
    • construction, modifications, or new technologies to improve animal housing
    • equipment to improve animal handling
  • Education and outreach, training and skills development.
  • Applied research, pilot projects and demonstrations.
  • Traceability equipment.
  • Traceability system improvements.

Plant health

  • Education, training, assessment and planning.
  • Preventing introduction and spread of pests through isolation, sanitation and controlling work flow.
  • Plant pest monitoring and management tools and equipment.
  • Preventing access by wildlife, pests and rodents.
  • Installation of Continuous rinse systems.
  • Technologies and processes to reduce plant pest contamination and risk.
  • Skills development, training and education.
  • Building networks to advance plant health.
  • Applied research, pilot projects and demonstrations.
  • Plant health best practices.

For information about Ontario’s protection and assurance programming under the Partnership, visit: ontario.ca/agpartnership, or call 1-877-424-1300.