Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced 252 million Canadian dollars (US $179 million) to the agri-food sector to help protect farmers and food processors against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The money can be used to buy personal protective equipment for workers, adapt to health protocols and support other social distancing measures, Trudeau said at his press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Trudeau’s announcement came as Canadian farmers begin the spring planting season, warning that producers could start culling their animals to cope with reduced capacity at some of the country’s largest meat processing plants, which have been especially hard hit by the pandemic.
Of the 252 million Canadian dollars, 77 million is earmarked to help food processors buy protective equipment for workers and expand domestic processing capacity of food; 125 million is meant to help cattle and hog producers because of their costs increase, and 50 million will go for a food surplus purchasing program to compensate food producers.
Among the challenges for those working to feed Canadians are changing demands due to the closure of many restaurants, having the staff to work the current planting season, and the closure of some processing plants.
“We know that farmers still have concerns about what this pandemic means for their industry long-term. I can assure you that we are working with farmers, stakeholders, and provinces and territories to find lasting solutions,” Trudeau said. “This is an initial investment and if we need to add more, we will.”
Last week, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture appealed to the Trudeau government to provide the agri-food sector an emergency fund of 2.6 billion Canadian dollars (about US $1.9 billion) to maintain food security in the country.
That amount was based on original estimates of the immediate impacts of the pandemic across Canada, such as the shutdown of much of the food service sector and supply chain disruptions.
As of 2.15 p.m. Tuesday, there were 61,961 cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 4,037 deaths.
