Teeswater, Ontario - The government of Ontario is investing up to $22 million through the Agri-Tech Innovation Program to fund more than 170 projects that help the agri-food sector implement new and unique ways to set businesses up for future growth and success while strengthening the food supply chain, creating safer workplaces and making operations more resilient to future disruptions.
This investment will build a stronger Ontario through the adoption of new advanced agriculture and food processing technology that improve the productivity of farmers and agri-food processing businesses, address the labour shortage, and support the long-term sustainability and growth of the sector.
Examples of new technology being implemented include:
- A self-driving tractor which includes data collection, will decrease use of chemical sprays, contact between farm workers and deter from traditional methods of bird damage preventions.
- An automated colour sorter machine for the grading and sorting of soybeans which eliminates manual processing, labour challenges and reliance on global suppliers.
- An automated turkey packaging processor and further processing lines which will reduce employee risk of exposure to COVID-19, workplace related injuries and address shortages in meat processing sector.