Licensed cannabis cultivators now have at their disposal dozens of cost-sharing grants offered by the province of Ontario and Canada’s federal government. Furthermore, cultivators can choose from a whopping 56 separate cost-sharing programs.
The funding is reportedly provided in part through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership – a C$3 billion dollar ($2.2 billion) initiative which supports agricultural businesses of all kinds across Canada.
If you also have a cannabis production or processing business and are looking to apply for the same, your business needs to have/meet the following documents/conditions:
1) A legal farm business that manufactures agricultural products.
2 ) An ‘Ontario Farm Business Registration Number‘ (FBRN) or eligible exemption (if any) for the farm business.
3) A valid Premises Identification (PID) Number.
4) Some focus areas need participation in an Environmental Farm Plan, Growing Farm Profits or Biosecurity workshop.
Notably, the deadline for the current intake of applicants for both producers and growers is set for 6 May. However, growers have around half the number of cost-sharing initiatives to choose from (precisely 26) as compared to producers.
Companies that manufacture edibles and beverages are not yet eligible as the products haven’t been legalized yet.
“As far as eligibility for cannabis producers and processors is concerned, they are eligible for program funding under the same rules as any other project- It must be legal and the project must meet merits and outcomes of project categories,” Dave McLeod, project analyst with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, was quoted as saying.
This funding should come as a huge boost for micro-cultivators.
For producers, the cost-sharing grants vary from “equipment modifications to reduce soil compaction” (CA$10,000) to “technology and equipment to improve labor productivity” (CA$100,000).
Bianca Jamieson of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture wrote in an email that the cost-share funding is merit-based and funding amounts solely depend on the project types.
Notably, Ontario is home to around half of the 163+ federal license holders in Canada.
