Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Financial Assistance for Ontario's Agri-Food and Community Organizations

The provincial government and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs work together to help grow Ontario by providing agri-food and community organizations with funding programs that support good jobs, attract investment, and help them make an even greater contribution to Ontario's economic success.

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership)

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is the new five-year commitment by Canada's federal, provincial and territorial governments that will support Canada's agri-food and agri-products sectors.

Rural Economic Development Fund

The Rural Economic Development (RED) program is a community and economic development initiative that helps rural communities remove barriers to development and economic growth.

The RED program has two streams:

• Planning Stream: Rural, regional and community projects that help rural communities and regions build a foundation for economic growth and investment.
• Implementation Stream: Strengthening rural and regional economic competitiveness to support the implementation of projects that have been identified through some form of evidence-based planning processes, and to contribute to economic competitiveness.

Projects include: tourism initiatives, downtown growth and revitalization plans, business expansions that create jobs, research and training programs to stimulate entrepreneurship.

Jobs and Prosperity Fund - Food and Beverage Growth Fund

Within the Jobs and Prosperity Fund, the Food and Beverage Growth Fund provides funding for strategic investments that help create sustainable jobs; enhance innovation, productivity and market access; and strengthen supply chains in the food, beverage and bioproduct processing sectors. This fund is available for food, beverage and bioproduct processing projects across the province with more than $5 million in eligible costs.

Local Food Fund - program ended January 2015

The Local Food Fund was a three-year initiative that provided funding of up to $10 million per year to support innovative local food projects that reduced barriers to regional economic development; resulted in sustainable regional economic development; and had a positive impact on Ontario's economy.

Projects included: funding to promote local food events, community food projects, individual business expansions.