Funds meant as hand-up to farming, agriculture

Ontario farmers and agriculture-based businesses looking to bite into a chunk of $20 million in provincial and federal funds can start submitting applications at the end of next month.

The funds, for enhancing or expanding existing operations, intend to give qualified recipients a hand-up "in the face of tariffs and economic uncertainty," a provincial news release said on Tuesday.

Applications to the Market Diversification and Trade Resiliency Initiative can be made between Feb. 17 and March 17.

"This investment will help our local farmers and agribusinesses sell more (Ontario-grown) products to markets around the world," Ontario Agriculture minister Trevor Jones said in the news release.

Jones, a former police officer, grew up in Leamington, a southwestern Ontario farming hub.

Program applicants must have less than 500 employees, a backgrounder says. Information about how to apply is available online at ontario.ca.

Also this week, an Ottawa-based association of Canadian agricultural product exporters said they welcome recent efforts by Prime Minister Mark Carney to restore trade with China on main Canadian goods like canola.