The federal and provincial governments announced a new round of subsidies to encourage farmers and processors to diversify markets other than the United States.
Ontario Agriculture Minister Sam Oosterhof said in a news release that the money will help more than 130 Ontario farmers and processors sell more Ontario grown products around the world.
This government funding, combined with cost-shared investments by the sector, is expected to generate up to $134 million in investments for
Ontario farmers and processors.
“The Market Diversification and Trade Resiliency Initiative is protecting agri-food jobs and agribusiness resilience in the face of unprovoked tariffs from Donald Trump,” said Oosterhof.
“This $22 million investment is unleashing over $110 million in private sector investment, creating over 900 new good-paying jobs and keeping Ontario’s food supply chain secure, sovereign and self-reliant,” he said.
The news release also highlighted previous projects funded earlier by the federal-provincial program.
Up to $499,000 went to Martin’s Family Farm in Waterloo to develop an innovative packaging line for apple sauce.
Up to $70,000 went to Beck’s Broth in Kitchener to launch new products and expand distribution nationally.
Up to $494,000 went to Lynch Ag Ltd. in Englehart for a handling line, optical sorter and AI enabled grading software to support increased interprovincial and export sales.
Up to $310,000 went to Canada Royal Milk in Kingston for a pulse light system and a shrink wrapper packaging system to diversify beyond Canadian retail markets.
