Diversifying Alberta’s agriculture sector
7 Jul 2021
news
The governments of Canada and Alberta are supporting the Alberta Hemp Alliance (AHA) with a one-time grant to establish a provincial industry association for hemp processing with more than $300,000 over two years (2021-2023) through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
The grant will help AHA build capacity to fulfil its mandate as the provincial association for the hemp industry in Alberta. AHA intends to be self-sustainable beyond its first years of operation by creating revenue streams from membership fees, an industry sales levy, education and training, webinars, conferences and trade shows.
“Supporting the burgeoning hemp industry is important because it will provide producers new market opportunities and a way to diversify their rotation with this alternative crop. From seed to straw, the opportunities to sell this crop are growing, with value added products ranging from food to biofuel to bioplastics and construction materials.”
Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership has also provided more than $950,000 in grants to BioComposites Group Inc. (BCG) in the past three years to support growth in the hemp fibre industry in Alberta.