Cannabis cultivators operating in Newfoundland and Labrador are ineligible to receive funding under the provincial portion of the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a new program that funds agricultural initiatives across Canada.
That’s because the province considers cannabis an “ineligible” commodity, a spokesperson for the province’s Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture told MJBizDaily via email.
“As such, the marketing and production of cannabis is ineligible for funding under the provincially delivered program,” the spokesperson said.
No reason was provided.
Canada’s Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) is a joint federal-provincial initiative being administered federally by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the respective provinces and territories themselves.
The five-year program includes 1 billion Canadian dollars ($740 million) in federal programs and CA$2.5 billion in cost-shared provincial initiatives.
It might still be possible for cannabis farms in the province to tap the federal-only portion of the program.
The Sustainable CAP program, which replaced the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) earlier this year, runs from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2028.
For projects designed and delivered by provinces, cost-shared initiatives under the Sustainable CAP program are funded 60% federally and 40% provincially.
More than 700 agricultural initiatives in Newfoundland received funding through the original CAP program that expired in March 2023.
But since Newfoundland classified cannabis cultivation as “commercial,” rather than “agricultural,” CAP funding was not open to cannabis cultivators in that province under the previous program.
Most other provinces allow cannabis cultivators to apply for funding under the Sustainable CAP program.
Alberta, for instance, told MJBizDaily that cannabis-related agricultural businesses based there are eligible for provincial funding if they meet certain requirements.
Source: MJBizDaily
