Farmers are on the front lines of worsening climate impacts, and face an increasing risk of wildfires and extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts. The best way to ensure farms remain sustainable is by developing and deploying green solutions that are custom-made for each region, led by farmers and farm groups themselves.
The Agricultural Climate Solutions (ACS) program is a 10-year, $185 million investment to establish a strong, Canada-wide network of regional collaborations led by farmers and including scientists and other stakeholders. ACS will aim to develop regional collaboration hubs, also known as "Living Labs" in every province in Canada.
Each hub will develop and share farming practices that best store carbon, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate climate change. The ultimate goal is to have the agriculture sector working together to support Canada’s Strengthened Climate Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
Investing in our future
ACS is part of a more than $4 billion fund called the Natural Climate Solutions Fund led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Agricultural Climate Solutions program), Natural Resources of Canada (Growing Canada’s Forests program), and Environment and Climate Change Canada (Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund).
This work will also help protect biodiversity, improve water and soil quality, and strengthen farmers’ bottom lines. Farmers and farm groups will be at the centre of decision making, innovation, and on-farm activities at each hub. ACS collaborators will focus on transferring knowledge to other farmers so that they can adopt solutions that are suitable to their region and promote environmental sustainability and resiliency in the agriculture sector.
Funding in two phases
To be eligible for ACS, applicants must form a network of partnerships within a province, including agricultural non-profits, Indigenous organizations, and environmental groups.
Phase 1: Grant funding applications (April 1 to June 15, 2021) – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is accepting proposals for grants of up to $100,000 from eligible organizations to support them in creating a network of participants and to develop project proposals for contribution funding to establish an ACS project.
Phase 2: Contribution funding applications (Fall 2021) – Applications for funding support of up to $10 million per project and, if requested, research support from a team of government department scientists led by AAFC are slated to open in Fall 2021. It is expected that approved projects will start in spring of 2022. The receipt of grant funding in Phase 1 will not be a requirement to apply for Phase 2 contribution funding and AAFC research and development support.
Visit the Agricultural Climate Solutions Program for more information on how you can apply.
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