The Canadian government has launched the AgriCommunication Initiative to help better connect Canadians with farmers, a Dec. 9 news release says.
“Consumers have a growing interest in learning more about where homegrown agricultural products come from and how they’re made. This initiative will develop more connections between the agriculture and agri-food industry and Canadians,” Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal minister of agriculture and agri-food, says in the release.
The release notes the initiative supports progress towards achieving the vision established in the Food Policy for Canada. The food policy supports work on food fraud, food labelling, and food loss and waste, among other initiatives.
There is two streams of the initiative. The first aims to help Canadians better understand how their food is produced, the release says. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) will provide up to $8 million over three years to support projects which promote consumer awareness of the strengths of Canada’s agriculture sector.
The release notes eligible recipients include not-for-profit associations and Indigenous groups. The program will also support agricultural fairs and exhibitions which have broad agriculture awareness mandates.
AAFC will also launch communications and awareness activities in spring 2022 to highlight the sector’s efforts to adopt sustainable and environmentally friendly practices and technologies, as part of the first stream. There is also work underway to refresh the Canada Brand platform to ensure that food businesses and partners have access to new graphics and tools optimized for today’s digital platforms, the release says.
The second stream of the initiative will focus on increasing the sector’s understanding of consumer preferences and expectations. The release notes more details will be available in the coming months.
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