As part of Earth Day celebrations, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced six projects to help tackle climate change in agriculture. 

The $6.4 million in funds will support pre-commercial science activities and cutting-edge research to help producers accelerate the pace of innovation to protect the environment without compromising production. The recipient organizations include: AFA Systems Inc., Cascadia Seaweed Corporation, Enns Brothers Ltd., McCain Foods Limited, Naut’sa Mawt Tribal Council, and Nexus Robotics, Inc.

Here's more in-depth explanation of the projects relevant to horticulture: 

 Projects include: 

-  AFA Systems, located in Brampton, ON, will receive up to $1,053,706 to develop a prototype of a completely compostable can system for agri-food applications. The project will propose an innovative solution that incorporates bio-composites, generates a lower carbon footprint and offers a functional and sustainable alternative to composite cans destined for landfill. 

-  Enns Brothers Limited., located in Oak Bluff, MB will receive up to $2,719,745 to advance the development of an innovative AI-driven device for autonomous, non-destructive crop monitoring. The device integrates lidar and multi-spectral sensors to generate 3D point cloud data. Computer vision and machine learning approaches will be used to provide novel quantitative information for crop health, decision support and insurance applications. 

-  McCain Foods Limited, located in Florenceville-Bristol, NB will receive up to $477,550 to pilot clean technologies and regenerative farming practices on a commercial potato farm. These practices will be assessed for their potential to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture and promote soil health, biodiversity, crop yield and farm revenue. The project will contribute to the understanding of practices that can help growers mitigate the impact of climate change. 

-  Nexus Robotics, headquartered in Halifax, NS with operations in Brossard, QC, will receive up to $1,364,399 to develop software that will add insect pest and disease detection to the cutting-edge weeding robot developed by the company. The project has excellent potential to reduce the environmental impacts of pest management by providing producers with data and information that will allow them to take targeted and immediate action against identified pests. 

 Source:  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada April 22, 2022 news release