Canadian state funds poultry farms to improve biosecurity

 

 

Ontario has rolled out a new on-farm biosecurity support programme for the province's poultry farmers.

 

The new programme, announced last week, will provide funding worth CA$8 million (US$7.55 million) to help producers set up or improve biosecurity measures on their farms, based on the National Avian On-Farm Biosecurity Standard.

 

The majority of that money, about CA$5.3 million (US$5 million), will help producers cover the costs of things like equipment, software, structural modifications or veterinary fees needed to enhance biosecurity and traceability in their operations. The rest of the funding will support farm organisations in building better food safety and traceability systems.

 

The national standard is billed as a comprehensive tool designed to identify a range of measures intended to prevent disease-causing agents from entering, spreading within a farm or escaping from a premises housing poultry.

 

The farm biosecurity programme (FBP) includes cost-share opportunities to help farmers set up the biosecurity projects identified in their action plans. Those cost-share funds will be available on a first-come, first-served basis up to the maximum available annual funds for each year of the programme, the province said.

 

Funding for Ontario's FBP is to be budgeted from a larger CA$9.3 million (US$8.78 million) biosecurity investment, through the federal/provincial Growing Forward farm policy funding framework.

 

The province and Ottawa also announced a food safety and traceability education programme, to help Ontario organisations develop and deliver educational and outreach programmes to promote best practices to Ontario producers and processors.

 

Funding for that programme will be distributed at the sector level and delivered by Ontario's Agricultural Adaptation Council.

 

According to Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Carol Mitchell, a logical next step in the development of the state's agricultural sector, and rural communities in general, is to develop food processing capacity locally. Taking that step would align with the growing movement to eat food with local origins, food that can be traced to its source.

 

Local food production and processing is good for rural communities, Mitchell said.

 

Traceability, she said, enhances consumer confidence, strengthens and protects the agricultural industry, and generates opportunities for Ontario's agricultural products.