2022–2023 Departmental Results Report – Details on Transfer Payment Programs

An evaluation of the AgriAssurance Program was completed in 2022 and found that the program addresses the need for public trust in food safety and quality, is responding to emerging sector priorities, such as environmental sustainability, and is reaching national industry associations representing the majority of Canadian agricultural sectors. While it found that limitations in performance data creates challenges in assessing the program effectiveness, the evaluation also provided evidence that some projects under AgriAssurance have had a significant positive impact on their sectors and fulfilled the program's objectives.

For more information about the key findings and subsequent recommendations, please visit: Evaluation of the AgriAssurance Program

In 2022–23, the Agricultural Clean Technology Program approved 205 projects for the Adoption stream and 18 projects for the Research and Innovation stream.

Under the program, a cumulative total of 44 agricultural clean technologies have been developed, assessed or demonstrated and 154 clean technologies have been adopted.

The Audit of Application Assessment for Contribution Programs was completed in October 2022 and concluded that adequate and effective controls were in place to support application assessment for contribution programs and that funding decisions were made in accordance with program terms and conditions. Recommendations were made to address gaps in the implementation of a management control framework, communication to senior management and the documentation of due diligence work performed by program staff.

For more information about key findings and subsequent recommendations, please visit: Audit of application assessment for contribution programs

Agricultural Climate Solutions (ACS) Living Labs – April 1, 2021

ACS On-Farm Climate Action Fund – August 11, 2021

ACS Living Labs – March 31, 2031

ACS On-Farm Climate Action Fund – March 31, 2028

ACS Living Labs aims to incent and accelerate on-farm co-development, testing, monitoring, dissemination, and adoption of Beneficial Management Practices (BMP) that sequester carbon, mitigate climate change, and provide environmental co-benefits and social benefits. ACS Living Labs is a program under the Natural Climate Solutions Fund (NCSF), a horizontal initiative led by Natural Resources Canada, with Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, which aims to develop projects that invest in natural climate solutions.

The ACS On-Farm Climate Action Fund aims to accelerate the adoption of farm practices that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon, and achieve other environmental co-benefits. The program, also under the NCSF, focuses on supporting BMP adoption in three areas: improving nitrogen management; increasing adoption of cover cropping; and normalizing rotational grazing.

In their first year of operation, the ACS Living Labs had over 83 BMPs that were being developed or improved: 45 BMPs are intended to increase carbon sequestration and 38 BMPs are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the ACS On-Farm Climate Action Fund, early estimates suggest that over 4,200 producers were implementing new BMPs or expanding BMP adoption on new acres of land. Note that these results are based on project performance reports received and approved as of July 2023.

Three AgriRecovery initiatives were completed in 2022–23:

1. 2020 Canada-Manitoba Finished Cattle Feed Assistance Program (COVID-19)
2. 2021 Canada-Alberta Livestock Feed Assistance Initiative (2021 Drought)
3. Canada-Ontario 2021 Dry Weather AgriRecovery Initiative (2021 Drought)

The AgriRecovery payments for two of these initiatives were found to have played an important role in the recovery of the affected producers. Manitoba cattle producers who participated in the 2020 Canada-Manitoba Finished Cattle Feed Assistance Program (COVID-19) reported that although this support did help, they felt that the support from this initiative did not play an important role in their recovery. The data for this indicator was reported by the provincial administrator at the conclusion of each initiative. During the delivery of the initiatives, administrators were in frequent contact with commodity organizations as well as individual producers and received ongoing feedback on the effectiveness of the support producers received.

No new AgriRecovery initiatives were implemented in 2022-23. However, governments continued to deliver the Canada-Manitoba 2021 AgriRecovery Drought Assistance Initiative (2021 Drought), the 2021 Canada-British Columbia Wildfire and Drought Recovery Initiative (2021 Drought) and the 2021 Canada-British Columbia Flood Recovery Program for Food Security.

The process for AgriRecovery begins when one or more provincial/territorial government(s) requests an assessment of a disaster event in writing. Once the request has been made, a joint federal and provincial/territorial task team conducts an AgriRecovery assessment. As needed, the task team consults with affected producers, industry representatives and other department/agency representatives (for example, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Public Safety Canada).

AgriCompetitiveness Program: April 1, 2018

AgriCommunication Program: December 7, 2021

AgriCompetitiveness Program: March 31, 2028

AgriCommunication Program: March 31, 2024

Sector Engagement and Development

Food Policy Initiatives (AgriCommunication Program)

The AgriCompetitiveness Program provides non-repayable funding to help the sector build on existing capacity, enhance safety, adapt to changing commercial and regulatory environments, seize new opportunities, share best practices, and provide mentorship opportunities.

The AgriCommunication Program focuses on supporting activities which increase appreciation and pride in the contributions of farmers and the food industry and enhance public trust. The activities will help strengthen public trust about the origin of the food Canadians eat and how it is produced.

The program will provide non-repayable contributions to projects that focus on one or more of the following priorities:

• consumer awareness of Canadian agriculture
• sector awareness of consumer perceptions
• industry's efforts to endorse environmentally sustainable best practices

The AgriCompetitiveness Program approved 2 projects in 2022–23. The cumulative total of approved projects since the program's inception in 2018 is 27. Final calculations for the number of participants at events where agricultural awareness, knowledge, skills and best practices are shared will be available in the fall of 2023 once project performance data is collected.

In 2022–23, the AgriCommunication Program approved 17 projects, for an overall total of 18 projects. The program stopped accepting applications as of June 12, 2023, as funding has been fully committed.

The Audit of Application Assessment for Contribution Programs was completed in October 2022 and concluded that adequate and effective controls were in place to support application assessment for contribution programs and that funding decisions were made in accordance with program terms and conditions. Recommendations were made to address gaps in the implementation of a management control framework, communication to senior management and the documentation of due diligence work performed by program staff.

For more information about key findings and subsequent recommendations, please visit: Audit of application assessment for contribution programs

Stakeholders were engaged as part of the Government of Canada's national consultations on the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

In addition, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada communicated the launch of the AgriCommunication Program through a news release. Existing departmental programs (such as AgriCompetitiveness) that had several potential AgriCommunication recipients were also engaged through email, site visits, web presence, videoconferences, teleconferences or other outreach and project assessment and monitoring.

Additional efforts included broader industry engagement, including outreach to federal, provincial and territorial counterparts and various food-related associations across the country.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada communication efforts included mail outs, news conferences, or news releases.

Program clients were also engaged through email, web presence, videoconferences, teleconferences and other outreach, and project assessment and monitoring.

Additional efforts included broader industry engagement, including outreach to the series of Sector Engagement Tables, the Innovation and CleanTech Hub, and other related industry associations.

Program staff engaged the Department's regional offices as well as Regional Development Agencies to increase awareness of and interest in the program in its final year.

There is a two year lag in reporting for the AgriInsurance Program due to the time required to compile the information.

• The value of agricultural products eligible for insurance, as a percentage of the value of all agricultural products produced (except livestock), was 88% in 2020–21. The target of 85% for this indicator was met.
• The value of insured crop production, as a percentage of the total value of all agricultural products eligible for insurance (excluding forage, pasture and livestock production), was 71.65% in 2020–21. The target of 75% was not met for the 2020–21 crop year. However this indicator excludes forage and pasture production that was overachieved at 26.79% (and the target for this specific group of commodity is 20%). The factors used to measure the results are volatile, however, they remain close to the target. It should also be noted that the results reporting of the final indicators will be two years after the Canadian Agricultural Partnership framework end date of March 2023 (due to the lag in the information).

In order to address industry feedback and increase program participation, governments are responding to meet specific industry needs by working towards putting forward program changes.

Business Risk Management programs are generally marketed to producers as a package. In advance of key program deadlines, direct mail and advertising are used by administrators (provinces) to raise program awareness, encourage enrolment and compliance with participation requirements (for example, meeting key deadlines). The program website, toll-free number, and media relations supports the promotional campaigns. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada works with provinces and with third party delivery agencies to ensure a coordinated communications approach, and to ensure federal identity on cost-shared programs.

The Department continues to build on the program websites as a key source of program information, and on options for communicating information to program clients. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada also works with the National Program Advisory Committee to engage its producers.

There is a two year lag in reporting for the AgriInvest Program due to the time required to compile the information.

On the 2020 program year figures, the value of government contributions as percent of maximum allowable contributions was 90.4%, surpassing the target of 85%. Note that there is a lag in reporting due to the time needed to complete the processing of all of the producer applications for a given year and to compile the data.

According to the 2019 Farm Financial Survey, 93% of program participants who made a withdrawal from their AgriInvest account, used that withdrawal to address income declines, make on-farm investments, or pay for input expenses.

An evaluation of AgriInvest was completed in 2022–23. The evaluation found that AgriInvest provides easily accessible coverage of small income declines and makes on-farm investments to limit risk. However, the program does not fully meet the needs of all producers, notably for smaller operations. Given the absence of the program's tracking on use of funds, there is no mechanism to attribute the program's contribution to its intended intermediate and ultimate outcomes, resulting in AgriInvest possibly not always being used as intended, as a first line of defense against small income declines. More needs to be done to include underrepresented groups in the program.

For more information about the key findings and subsequent recommendations, please visit: Evaluation of AgriInvest

Business Risk Management programs are generally marketed to producers as a package. In advance of key program deadlines, direct mail and advertising are used by administrators to raise program awareness, and encourage enrolment and compliance with participation requirements (for example, meeting key deadlines). The program website, My AAFC Account, a toll-free number, and media relations will support the promotional campaigns.

The My AAFC Account allows producers from all provinces and territories except those in Quebec, to get up-to-date information on-line for their AgriInvest Account.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada works with provinces and with third party delivery agencies to ensure a coordinated communications approach and federal identity on cost-shared programs. The Department continues to build on the program websites and My AAFC Account as key sources of program information, and on options for communicating information to program clients. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada also works with the National Program Advisory Committee to engage with producers, and consults with national industry associations and producer groups on program directions and major program changes.

An evaluation of AgriMarketing was completed in 2022–23. The evaluation found that AgriMarketing addresses a gap in federally delivered market development and export promotion support for the Canadian agricultural sector and successfully contributes to program outcomes. Ongoing federal collaboration and engagement is needed to limit the risk of duplication of programs and services with similar objectives and beneficiaries and to help bolster awareness of these resources. Program performance data improvements are required, and a greater return on investment could be achieved by a broader dissemination of knowledge gained from AgriMarketing projects. Supporting project flexibility in adapting to emergent market challenges and mitigating overexposure to specific markets would better support the program's export diversification objective.

For more information about the key findings and subsequent recommendations, please visit: Evaluation of the AgriMarketing program

Information on the AgriRisk Initiatives Program, as well as the eligibility criteria and application process, was available on Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's website. The program website, toll-free number, and media relations supported the promotional campaigns.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada worked with provinces and recipients to ensure a coordinated communications approach and to ensure federal identity on cost-shared programs, and appropriate acknowledgement on relevant project communications material.

The Department continued to build on the program websites as a key source of program information and on options for communicating information to program clients. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada also worked with the National Program Advisory Committee to engage its producers.

The AgriScience program accelerates the pace of innovation in the sector by supporting industry-led research and development to increase market opportunities in the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products sector. The program is delivered through two types of initiatives: the Clusters Component and the Projects Component.

Clusters are national in scope and bring together scientific expertise from industry, academia and government to collaborate to address multiple industry priorities of a specific commodity (such as wheat, beef, et cetera) or cross-cutting issues (for example, bioproducts, food processing). Projects may be individually led research projects or a small group of projects that are national, regional or local in scope.

In 2022–23, under the AgriScience Program, 132 papers were published in peer-reviewed journals bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,416.

In addition, 18 new technologies (products, practices, processes and systems) were developed under funded activities, bringing the cumulative total to 240. Note that these results are based on project performance reports received and approved as of July 2023.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada communication efforts included mail outs, news conferences, or news releases.

Program clients were also engaged through email, web presence and other outreach, and through project assessment and monitoring.

Additional efforts included broader industry engagement, including outreach to the series of Sector Engagement Tables, companies and industry associations, and an annual meeting with AgriScience Cluster recipients.

The following results are based on the numbers for the 2018 and 2019 program years. There is a two-year lag in reporting due to the time needed to complete the processing of all of the producer applications for a given year and to compile the data.

• Overall, farm market revenues of program participants represented 58% of all eligible farm market revenue for 2018 and 2019 program years, which is below the target of 65% and similar to the 2017 level of 57%.
• The percentage of producers whose income is greater than their allowable expenses after receiving AgriStability payments in 2019 was 97%, above the 95% target.

Participation in AgriStability has remained low in both the Growing Forward 2 (2013–18) and Canadian Agricultural Partnership (2018–23) policy frameworks, due in part to program changes and favourable market conditions. In 2021, Ministers agreed to remove the Reference Margin Limit, retroactive to the 2020 program year. This change will make the program more equitable and easier to understand and may help to increase program participation.

An evaluation of AgriStability was completed in 2022–23. The evaluation noted that AgriStability has the potential to provide a broader level of support for Canada's agricultural sector and support a larger number of small operations. However, current design and delivery favours larger operations and sectors with narrow margins. Program payment predictability, timelines and program complexity continue to be an issue. Tailored communications and capacity building activities with underrepresented groups could improve their participation in the program.

For more information about the key findings and subsequent recommendations, please visit: Evaluation of AgriStability

Business Risk Management programs are generally marketed to producers as a package. In advance of key program deadlines, direct mail and advertising are used by administrators to raise program awareness, and encourage enrolment and compliance with participation requirements (for example, meeting key deadlines). The program website, My AAFC Account, a toll-free number, and media relations will support the promotional campaigns.

The My AAFC Account allows producers in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, North West Territories and Yukon to get up-to date information online for their AgriStability account. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada works with provinces and with third party delivery agencies to ensure a coordinated communications approach, and to ensure federal identity on cost shared programs. The Department continues to build on the program websites and My AAFC Account as a key source of program information, and on options for communicating information to program clients. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada also works with the National Program Advisory Committee to engage with producers and engages in consultations with national industry associations and producer groups on program direction and major program changes.

The Dairy Programs consisted of the Dairy Farm Investment Program (DFIP) and the Dairy Processing Investment Fund (DPIF), which are designed to encourage investment by dairy farmers and dairy processors to improve productivity and competitiveness in light of anticipated market changes resulting from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement.

The DFIP (2017–18 to 2022–23) supported dairy farmers in modernizing their operations and improves their productivity through activities such as the adoption of robotic milkers, automated feeding systems, herd management tools, or other equipment upgrades.

The DPIF (2017–18 to 2022–23) supported dairy processors as they modernize their facilities and conduct near-market activities to introduce new and improved products that will compete with expected imports. The program supported access to technical expertise and the purchase of new equipment in order to expand processing capacity and diversify product lines to capture new market opportunities.

As of March 31, 2023, the Dairy Farm Investment Program has approved a cumulative total of 3,457 projects since its inception. Of these, 3,329 (cumulative total representing all six years of the program) are now complete. A survey was conducted in May 2022 of 1,527 program respondents that showed 83% experienced time savings and 76% noted production cost savings as a result of their investment. A second survey of program recipients is planned to be conducted within a couple years of the program ending (March 31, 2023) to determine the benefits of investments for recipients.

Under the Dairy Processing Investment Fund, a total of 103 facilities received funding. This exceeds the program's initial target of 51 as a result of projects being approved for smaller amounts of funding in the later years of the program than planned at the outset. This was done to ensure a larger distribution of funds across processing firms.

As of 2022–23, participating dairy processors have experienced a 3% reduction in total cost per dairy product unit, and have increased the use of fluid or industrial milk and milk components by 80%.

Dairy Farm Investment Program

• National consultations were held with stakeholders in advance of the Government announcing the launch of the second round of the Program in January 2019.

Dairy Processing Investment Fund

• As all funds were committed, engagement with program recipients during the fiscal year 2022–23 focused on project monitoring and was done through emails and phone calls.

The Dairy Direct Payment Program met its objectives in 2022–23:

• 96% of the farms eligible for compensation registered for the program through the Canadian Dairy Commission.
• Of those, 100% of the farms identified by the Canadian Dairy Commission received direct payments.

In 2022–23, 81 infrastructure investments were made to increase the availability of healthy and nutritious food.

As of March 31, 2023, a cumulative total of 894 infrastructure investments have been made. Of these, 608 have been small-scale, and 286 have been large-scale.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada communication efforts included mail outs, news conferences, and news releases. Program clients may also have been engaged through email, web presence, videoconferences, teleconferences, virtual information sessions, outreach activities, site visits, and project assessment and monitoring.

Additional efforts included broader industry engagement and outreach to federal, provincial, and territorial counterparts, and various food-related associations across the country.

Under the Food Waste Reduction Challenge, one challenge was issued with 4 streams: Business Model Streams (streams A and B) were targeted towards business solutions that prevented or diverted food waste; and Novel Technology Streams (streams C and D) were focused on novel technologies that extend the life of food or transform food waste into value-added products.

In 2022–23, 12 finalists were selected under the Business Models streams and awarded $400,000 each. Six finalists were selected under the Novel Technologies streams and awarded $430,000 each.

In total, 581 applications were received under the four streams of the challenge.

The Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector contributes to growing the economy.

The Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector is effective in transforming ideas into new products, processes or practices

Trade and Market Expansion

Foundational Science and Research

There are two programs under the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act:

• The Advance Payments Program provides producers with access to credit through cash advances based on the expected value of their agricultural products. This enables producers to meet their financial obligations and provide increased marketing opportunities by allowing them to sell agricultural products based on the market rather than the need for cash flow.
• The Price Pooling Program provides cooperative marketing agencies with a price guarantee on eligible products as a form of security against unanticipated declines in the market price for their products. This helps them to secure financing to issue initial payments to their producer members as they deliver product to the cooperative marketing pools.

Advance Payments Program

In 2022–23, the Department, in partnership with 30 third–party administrators, continued to provide eligible agricultural producers with access to timely, low cost loans to help them with their cash-flow needs over their production periods and provide them with additional flexibility to find the best markets for their agricultural products.

Both program participation and the total value of advances increased in 2022–23 as a result of a number of factors, including a temporary increase to the interest-free limit from $100,000 to $250,000, increased interest rates, and inflation.

Price Pooling Program

For 2022–23, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada entered into one Price Guarantee Agreement with a marketing agency for a total guarantee valued at $51.4 million. The participating marketing agency did not make any claims to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada against the price guarantee during the program year.

The primary marketing channel for the Advance Payments Program is through the approximately 30 producer organizations which administer the program. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada supported these efforts in a variety of ways to encourage awareness and uptake, including: social media campaigns (for example, Facebook, Twitter); print advertising in farm publications; as well as print-on-demand fact sheets that help maintain common messaging and brand identity.

Each year, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada officials hold meetings with program administrators, and may also attend selected industry trade shows/annual general meetings to gather feedback on program uptake and performance, and to ensure producers continue to benefit from the program. In 2022–23, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada was in the process of completing a review of Agricultural Marketing Program Act programs, as required under the Act. This legislative review included consultations with stakeholders (administrators, lenders and producers) across the country to determine if the programs and program provisions are meeting the needs of all stakeholders. The review was completed in summer 2023.

The Audit of Application Assessment for Contribution Programs was completed in October 2022 and concluded that adequate and effective controls were in place to support application assessment for contribution programs and that funding decisions were made in accordance with program terms and conditions. Recommendations were made to address gaps in the implementation of a management control framework, communication to senior management and the documentation of due diligence work performed by program staff.

For more information about key findings and subsequent recommendations, please visit: Audit of application assessment for contribution programs

The Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector contributes to growing the economy

The Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector is effective in transforming ideas into new products, processes or practices

The agricultural sector is financially resilient

The agriculture and agri-food sector is equipped with assurance systems and supporting tools

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Cost-shared Markets and Trade

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Cost-shared Science, Research, Innovation and Environment

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Cost-Shared Assurance

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Cost-shared Markets and Trade:

• Transfer payments are provided to the provinces and territories for programming to assist the Canadian agricultural sector in creating market-based opportunities for individual farms and firms, and providing industry with the knowledge and tools to compete at home and abroad. Specific provincial and/or territorial programs support the sector in identifying new domestic and global opportunities that enhance competitiveness and prosperity.

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Cost-shared Science, Research, Innovation and Environment:

• Transfer payments are provided to the provinces and territories for programming to accelerate the pace of innovation in the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector. A key focus of such innovation is the research, development and commercialization of products, practices, processes and systems that enhance productivity, competitiveness, economic growth and adaptability to environment and climate change in the sector.

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Cost-Shared Assurance:

• Transfer payments are provided to the provinces and territories for agricultural assurance programming to develop tools and support proactive mitigation activities. Specific provincial or territorial programs support the sector in its endeavors to prevent and control risks to the animal and plant resource base, provide safe food, and meet new market demands for assurance.

In 2022–23, Federal, Provincial and Territorial Cost-Shared programs under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership policy framework achieved, or will report on the following results:

Markets and Trade

• Number of clients reporting that market information and intelligence meets needs for awareness and knowledge of market opportunities: this new indicator will be measured through a Client Impact Survey currently in development with Statistics Canada. Results will be available in 2025. The results of the survey will set the baseline for subsequent performance measures.

Science, Research, Innovation and Environment

• Number of new technologies (products, practices, processes and systems) that attain Intellectual Property protection: 240,199 (cumulative results), continuing to meet annual targets and has met framework expectations.

Assurance

• Number of risk management/assurance projects completed on-farm: 7,354 (cumulative result), meeting annual target expectations through the first three years of the framework (2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21) and is on track to achieve framework targets.
• Number of risk management/assurance projects completed at processing facilities: 1,022 (cumulative result), meeting annual expectations and is on track to achieve framework targets (2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21).

In 2022–23, the program approved two projects, for a total of 22 over the duration of the program. Out of those 22 projects, five specifically helped organizations to increase the participation of underrepresented and marginalized groups, and those with diverse backgrounds, to enter the industry and pursue careers as agricultural entrepreneurs.

Two projects supported women and youth; la Fédération des agricultrices du Québec to build entrepreneurial capacity and business skills of women farmers across the country; and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture to develop a national framework and toolkit to address the under-representation of women in the sector.

The Audit of Application Assessment for Contribution Programs was completed in October 2022 and concluded that adequate and effective controls were in place to support application assessment for contribution programs and that funding decisions were made in accordance with program terms and conditions. Recommendations were made to address gaps in the implementation of a management control framework, communication to senior management and the documentation of due diligence work performed by program staff.

For more information about key findings and subsequent recommendations, please visit: Audit of application assessment for contribution programs

AgriDiversity is also included in the Audit of Claims Processing for Contribution Programs which will be completed within fiscal year 2023–24.

The Indigenous Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (IAFSI) is a Strategic Partnership Initiative between Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Indigenous Services Canada.

The Initiative aims to increase economic development opportunities for Indigenous Peoples in Canada by building their capacity to participate and succeed in the agriculture sector. The Initiative also supports the development of partnerships between federal and non-federal partners, including Indigenous communities, provincial/territorial governments, and the private sector, to ensure a strategic approach to economic development investments for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

The Initiative provides non-repayable contributions to Indigenous governments and organizations to support economic development activities in agriculture and agri-food sector.

In the final year of the Indigenous Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (IAFSI), the program focused on monitoring and closing out existing contribution agreements as it marked the conclusion of its operations.

Approximately two-thirds of the total contribution agreements in place to date focused on the development of business plans, feasibility studies, and opportunity assessments focused on community readiness and business development for Indigenous communities.

A total of up to $2.9 million in contributions was committed to support 15 ongoing projects during the 2022-23 fiscal year.

In 2022–23, Innovative Solutions Canada continued moving forward with work being done by Canadian small- and medium-sized enterprises on the 4 challenges that were issued in 2020–21:

• Bioplastics Challenge – two recipients, two new technologies – Phase 2 funding completed;
• Precision Agriculture Challenge – two recipients, two new technologies – Phase 2 funding completed;
• Canadian Meat Processing Automation Challenge – four recipients, four new technologies supported Phase 1 funding, Phase 2 assessments commenced; and
• Canadian Controlled Environment Agriculture Farming Challenge – up to nine recipients supported Phase 1 funding, Phase 2 assessments commenced.

As a pre-consultative process, a series of five awareness-raising workshops in 2018 gathered issues and generated ideas, drawing on the expertise of academic stakeholders, industry, non-governmental organizations, municipal, provincial, and territorial government partners, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada staff.

Program clients were also engaged through email, web presence, videoconferences, teleconferences and other outreach, and project assessment and monitoring.

In 2022–23, the Department, in partnership with lending institutions, continued to support the establishment, improvement and development of farms across Canada through the provision of Canadian Agricultural Loans Act loans.

The performance indicators and results:

• Dollar value of registered loans awarded to established and beginning farmers by lending institutions during the fiscal year: $39.83 million (minimum target: $67.45 million);
• Number of loans made to established and beginning farmers during the fiscal year: 421 (minimum target: 773);
• Defaulted loans as a percentage of the value of total loans at the end of the fiscal year: 0.01% (maximum target: 0.98%); and, Percentage of loans received and registered from lenders within 15 business days: 93% (minimum target: 80%)

The decrease in Canadian Agricultural Loans Act uptake can be attributed to a number of factors including: low loan limits in comparison to other provincial/federal loan guarantee programs; increased lender comfort levels with risk of issuing agricultural loans outside of the program; and existing market variables, such as a positive economic environment for agriculture, low interest rates, high commodity prices and high farm profitability.

The primary marketing channel for the Canadian Agricultural Loans Act program is through the financial institutions who deliver the program. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada supported these efforts in a variety of ways to encourage awareness and uptake, including: social media campaigns (for example, Facebook, Twitter); direct mail to producers; print advertising in farm/lender publications; as well as print on demand fact sheets for the agricultural lenders which help maintain common messaging and brand identity.

Each year, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada officials also typically attend two or three selected industry trade shows/annual general meetings to communicate the benefits of the program directly to producers and to learn and gather feedback from producers on the program.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada completed a study of the Canadian Agricultural Loans Act program in March 2023 as recommended in the Report to Parliament tabled in May 2021. The program is exploring the recommendations of the report on how it can better support underrepresented groups by changing its parameters, such as loan limits, expanded eligibility, and it's outreach and marketing activities to target these groups.

The Youth Employment and Skills Program received $21.4 million in funding for fiscal year 2021–22 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to its existing funding. However, funding for the program decreased to $3.7 million in 2022–23. As a result, the program prioritized funding internships for youth facing barriers. In 2022–23, the program helped fund 249 new positions for youth in the agriculture industry. Of these 249 youth, 69% of internships were identified as being in support of two or more underrepresented and marginalized groups.

*Note: Claims are still being processed for the 2022–23 year and the performance results above may change once all reports are received.