The Ecological Farmers’ Association of Ontario (EFAO) is excited to announce a new pilot program that is aimed at supporting ecological agriculture startups in northern Ontario. The pilot project has $80,000 available for farmers who are new to ecological farming.
Ecological agriculture uses regenerative, holistic, or organic practices to improve health, protect biodiversity and water sources, reduce synthetic chemical usage, and use renewable energy sources.
There are many challenges faced when starting a farm. For instance, the initial cost to start a farm is high, particularly due to current land prices.
"There's a lot of people that want to get into the agriculture industry, but there's a lot of barriers that people are facing," says Allison Muckle, Director of northern outreach and new farmer programs at EFAO.
The FedNor grant will provide successful applicants up to $10,000 to start a farm and support eligible equipment expenses such as greenhouses, processing equipment and fencing.
This program is part of the $245,892 grant to EFAO in 2020 which aims to promote sustainable agriculture and draw young farmers to help innovate the sector.
The average age of farmers is now above 50, and many will retire soon without plans for who will take over their operations. EFAO hopes to ease the farm succession crisis and encourage the younger generation to try agriculture.
The pilot is in an initial-inquiry phase until January 14, 2022. EFAO will then invite promising proposals to make a formal application.