Overview of the funding package announced on May 5, 2020
$252 million dollars announced in total funding.
The federal government has suggested that this funding envelope is an ‘initial amount’, and that more support may be on the horizon.
$77 million of the funding has been earmarked for agri-food processors to allow them to invest in further safety measures to protect employees including Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and in order to implement other protocols related to worker safety.
$125 million will go to pork and beef producers who have been facing critical challenges. The assistance will be delivered through a forthcoming AgriRecovery program.
Dairy farmers will receive a $200 million increase in credit line eligibility administered by the Dairy Commission in order to address ongoing storage concerns; this money is not included as part of the total funding announcement.
Further, the government has launched a surplus purchase food program that will be funded with a $50 million-dollar investment that will allow for the purchase of commodities faced in a surplus situation and redirect the goods to address food security concerns domestically.
Nothing was announced related to the cropping sector.