Canadian government to spend $25 million over 3 years on aid to green agricultural technology

The Trudeau government will dedicate $25 million over three years to aid the agricultural sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the adoption of green technology. The program will begin on April 1st of this year.

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Provinces as well as territories are eligible to apply for this federal funding and are encouraged to cooperate with industry on projects focusing on precision agriculture and bioproducts.

Precision agriculture

Precision agriculture (PA), sometimes called satellite farming, or site specific crop management (SSCM), manages crop production by observing, measuring, and responding to inter-field and intra-field variability of crops. The goal of precision agriculture is to create a decision support system of management for the entire farm that will optimize returns on inputs while preserving resources.

New satellite technology is crucial to much of precision agriculture although surveillance drones are also of use. Wikipedia describes the technology: "The practice of precision agriculture has been enabled by the advent of GPS and GNSS... This data is used in conjunction with satellite imagery by variable rate technology (VRT) including seeders, sprayers, etc. to optimally distribute resources."

The use of some of these technologies by a Saskatchewan farmer was reported in a Digital Journal article last year. The Western Producer newspaper also has an article on precision agriculture on the Canadian prairies.

Government statements on funding cleantech

Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture ad Agri-Food said: “This investment will help Canadian farmers stay on the cutting edge of clean technology by targeting developments in bioproducts and precision agriculture. Our government has made both agriculture and clean technology a priority for growth in our economy. This new program will contribute to Canada’s place as a world leader in agricultural clean technology, helping farmers to develop new and efficient uses of energy, while also protecting our environmental resources and mitigating climate change.”

The government also notes that a further $155 million will also be provided by Natural Resources Canada for research, development, and demonstration projects of clean technology.

In the 2017 budget the government announced a number of clean technology programs and initiatives. $130 million was directed to cleantech research and development. $400 million over 5 years funds the Sustainable Development Fund that focuses on cleantech projects. Finally, $14.5 million over four years is used to develop Clean Technology Data Strategy.

Previously published in Digital Journal