The Ontario government is providing 10 new projects with funding from the $2-million Fertilizer Challenge program in an effort to combat ongoing supply chain issues causing fertilizer shortages.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ontario farmers spent over $1.2 billion in 2021 on commercial fertilizers and lime, which was applied to over 6.8 million acres of farmland.
Following consultations with farmers and the agri-food sector, Ontario then launched the Fertilizer Challenge not only to address ongoing supply chain challenges but to “promote innovation” in the province’s agri-food sector.
Through the Challenge, the province is funding Ontario-made fertilizer projects that will be available and in the market by the spring of 2024.
Lisa Thompson, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, made the announcement in London, Ont., on Friday.
“We have listened to farmers over the last number of months and we have really taken to heart the importance of shortening the supply chain to bring certainty to Ontario farmers and agri-businesses,” she said.
“The Fertilizer Challenge, as it is administered by Bioenterprise Canada, has been a perfect example of how when the right incentive is created, Ontario agri-businesses are willing to stand up to the challenge.”
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Thompson said that the funding to be shared among the 10 recipients in the program will bring “good solutions forward in terms of Ontario farmers’ demand for nitrogen and phosphorus.”
“We want to be able to continue to increase our yields year over year,” she added.
“Ontario’s agricultural sector is a hotbed for innovation,” said Dave Smardon, CEO of Bioenterprise Canada. “We must leverage Canada’s in-house expertise and examine the methods we use to grow and protect our food, while also protecting the planet and food security obligations to address the most prominent issues we face as a global community.”
According to the ministry, one of the 10 projects currently underway through the Fertilizer Challenge is in St. Thomas, Ont., through the new innovative fertilizer manufacturing company CRF AgriTech LP.
The government said that this product can “reduce nutrient application rates while maintaining and improving current crop yields and reduce dependence on imported fertilizer.”
Production of the fertilizer is set to start this spring.
“Our fertilizer manufacturing plant’s proximity to key agricultural areas will make these innovative products easily accessible to Canadian growers,” said Mike Pastir, general manager of CRF AgriTech LP, in a statement.
“Through the production of PurYield, a polymer-coated fertilizer that reduces nutrient losses, CRF AgriTech provides new solutions for today’s growers to optimize crop performance, increase their profitability and focus on environmental sustainability.”
Rob Flack, MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London and parliamentary assistant to the minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, said that the Challenge supports the manufacturing of Ontario-made fertilizer options, alternatives and technology for local farmers.
“This will mean farmers will spend less on transportation and procurement costs for foreign fertilizers and can concentrate on what they do best — continuing to competitively grow the crops Ontarians rely on every day,” he said.
“We’ve got two to three million more people coming to this province,” Flack said. “They’ve got to be fed, they’ve got to have houses and they’ve got to have jobs. And we’re going to do all three in support of our industries and our agribusiness especially. We will grow exports and we will get the job done.”
Thompson added that the Fertilizer Challenge “underscores the reality that we need a really strong, thoughtful policy to support farmers, not only in Ontario, but across Canada.”
“I just appreciate so much how the agri-food industry in Ontario rose to the challenge and came forward with solutions that, with the help of Bioenterprise, we will see those solutions come to market quicker so, ultimately, farmers have a choice when it comes to the right inputs that support precision agriculture and the path forward,” she said.
— with files from Global News’ Andrew Graham.
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