The new Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP)
ADAPT Agreement with AAFC continues with new, five year, Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP)
The P.E.I. ADAPT Council has secured a new five year funding agreement that will enable it to continue the vital task of helping the agricultural industry forge a path to a brighter future.
Since 1999, the council has administered funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada that assists farmers and processors in finding new and innovative ways to tackle both current challenges and emerging issues. The new Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) replaces the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food program.
"We approved our first projects under the new program at our June meeting," said council chair Elmer MacDonald. While the application form used for the new CAAP program is slightly longer, MacDonald and council Executive Director Phil Ferraro said they have worked hard to ensure as seamless a transition as possible.
"Groups and organizations that have applied for funding in the past won’t really notice a big difference in the application process," said Ferraro. He said the emphasis is on path finding and piloting solutions to new and ongoing issues that face the industry.
MacDonald pointed out that eligible applications can encompass a wide spectrum—everything from exploring new technologies, to crops, or helping with expanding marketing. "We encourage applicants to look at different options to prepare the agriculture sector to face the future," MacDonald said.
He said ADAPT has always offered what could be called "risk capital" to explore the commercial feasibility of new ideas. MacDonald, who is a farmer himself, views that role as vital to the long-term survival of agriculture. "Individual producers or commodity organizations simply would not be able to afford to pursue these new ideas and they are vital to the industry moving forward," he said.
Like its predecessor, the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program allows projects to receive regional funding. Ferraro said this approach has been successful in the Atlantic region. It would allow an industry group, cattle producers for example, in the Maritimes or the Atlantic region to join forces and submit an application not only to the council but its counterparts in the other provinces to work on a joint problem.
"This approach is so important for the Atlantic region, "MacDonald added. "We have so many of the same challenges." Ferraro and MacDonald are urging both individuals and groups who feel they have a project that may qualify under the new program, to contact the ADAPT office at (902) 368-2005; Email: adapt
pei.aibn.com or on the Internet atwww.peiadapt.com.
Category: Agriculture
