Planting change: New funding aims to fuel agtech adoption

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announces MaRS will receive up to $3.25 million in funding to provide critical capital and advisory support to startups to ensure Canada meets its ambitious 2035 climate goals.

Canada’s agriculture sector is a major contributor to climate change, accounting for 10 percent of our annual carbon emissions. At the same time, this country is a powerhouse in cleantech innovation. The trick is to get the most promising solutions out of the lab and out into the field. To help spur the adoption of promising cleantech solutions for agriculture and the food industry, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has awarded MaRS Discovery District up to $3.25 million through its Agriculture Clean Technology (ACT) Accelerator.

MaRS is one of six organizations selected for this program. The overall $30-million investment is designed to fast-track the deployment of technologies that can help move Canada closer to its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 to 50 percent by 2035. Through the initiative, MaRS will distribute the funding and offer advisory support to Canadian companies developing clean technologies for agriculture and the food industry, with a particular focus on startups participating in the Mission from MaRS: Food and Agtech Accelerator.  

“This investment comes at a critical moment for Canada’s agriculture and food sector,” says Grace Lee Reynolds, CEO of MaRS. “Through our food and agtech mission powered by Farm Credit Canada, MaRS is mobilizing capital and coordinating early adopters. This investment will help more companies fast-track the commercialization of Canadian innovations tackling the sector’s most urgent supply chain challenges.”

The Mission from MaRS: Food and Agtech Program will use this funding to act as a strategic matchmaker and accelerator. Over the next two years, the initiative will prioritize three key outcomes:

• Direct funding and advisory: Providing Canadian agtech startups with the capital and mentorship required to refine, market and scale their solutions.
• Demonstration projects: Facilitating at least three major pilot projects by matching innovative ventures with corporate adopters.
• Knowledge sharing: Tracking performance data and developing industry case studies to prove the ROI of sustainable tech to the broader market.

“By encouraging collaboration between technology creators and businesses that use these technologies, our plan through this project is to show how working together can lead to positive change and growth in the industry,” says Danielle Martin, MP for University-Rosedale, who announced the funding on behalf of the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Learn more about how MaRS is driving the Mission from MaRS: Food and Agtech.