TORONTO – The governments of Canada and Ontario are helping 128 apple, tender fruit, and table grape producers grow more popular and hardy varieties of produce. The Growing Future Opportunities Initiative, with funding through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), is supporting these projects through a $4.4 million investment.
Growers are replanting more than 94 acres of apples and more than 60 acres of tender fruit and table grapes. The range of fruit varieties being planted are considered by the sector to have greater appeal with changing consumer tastes, and are more resilient to increase yield, improve hardiness, and enhance resistance to pests and diseases. This includes fruits such as Coral Star and Summer Serenade peaches and Gala and Honeycrisp apples.
“Ontario’s fruit producers are vitally important to Canada’s agriculture sector,” said Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “The Growing Future Opportunities Initiative will help them stay competitive and increase their resiliency, while ensuring folks have access to the locally grown fruit they enjoy.”
“In its first year, the Growing Future Opportunities Initiative is already helping Ontario fruit producers to be more competitive, so they can provide and market more popular products for consumers to enjoy,” said Rob Flack, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness. “Supporting agri-food production is part of our Grow Ontario Strategy, and it’s helping to drive economic growth in Ontario’s $50 billion agri-food sector.”
The Growing Future Opportunities Initiative is a three-year, $8 million initiative providing eligible fruit producers with cost-share funding to purchase vines or trees of popular fruit varieties. Applications are still being accepted for tender fruit, table grapes and wine grapes. Under the Growing Future Opportunities Initiative, eligible producers can receive 75 per cent of cost-share funding for plants.
The Sustainable CAP is a five-year, $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of Canada’s agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5-billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.