Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative

The Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative helps farmers and rural communities hire experts to help develop business proposals and undertake feasibility and other studies. These steps are necessary to create and expand biofuels production capacity involving significant ownership by producers.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents that are legal entities, and may include: not-for-profit organizations* and associations; universities; colleges; cooperatives; marketing boards; aboriginal groups; individuals and for-profit companies. This includes agricultural producers which, under the Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative, are defined as being engaged in commercial agricultural production with at least $10 000 annual gross farm sales. Beginning farmers are also eligible for funding (those who will establish a farm or have been in operation for less than six years) if they have, or will have at least $10 000 in annual gross farm sales.

Excluded from eligibility are federal departments and agencies, any applicant deemed ineligible as a result of Canadian government policy decisions or reasons; and, any applicant that is not a legal entity.

Eligible Activities

To be eligible, projects must comply with Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) Program objectives, principles and criteria, must fit within one of the ACAAF pillars, and must fall under one of the following key areas:

• hiring technical, financial, and business planning advisors to assist in developing sound, viable business proposals to create and expand biofuels production capacity involving significant (greater than one-third) ownership by agricultural producers (Pillar I);
• undertaking feasibility studies and other studies required to support business proposals (Pillar I);
• investigating the pre-commercialization of biofuels related research (such as technical analysis, adaptive research, market assessment and venture assessment, technical feasibility, market and economic feasibility studies, engineering prototypes, strategic market and business plans, the development of production prototype and demo product features, and other related activities if deemed eligible by AAFC) (Pillar II); and
• gathering information to help determine opportunities and provide necessary input to generate industry involvement in biofuels capacity building (Pillar III). Initiatives related to Pillar III must be oriented to business opportunities rather than policy dialogues and conferences.

In accordance with the objectives of Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative, priority will be given to supporting projects in the first two areas (i.e. business plans and feasibility studies).

Summary

The Government of Canada is committed to requiring a minimum of 5% average renewable fuel content in all transport fuel in Canada by 2010. Environment Canada is leading the development of the national strategy to implement this goal, with support from Natural Resources Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). AAFC wants to ensure that the 5% target is implemented in ways that result in the greatest possible benefit to the agriculture sector, including significant ownership of biofuels production facilities by agricultural producers.

To help meet the 5% target, AAFC is making available funding of $10 million dollars in fiscal year 2006/2007 through the Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative. Greater involvement in biofuel production facilities will allow agricultural producers to become participants in the value chain and increase their share of the benefits from renewable fuels production beyond delivering feedstock.

In order to provide as much benefit as possible, the objective of the Initiative is to help agricultural producers in the development of sound, well documented business plans for projects that have significant producer ownership (greater than one-third), as well as aiding to undertake feasibility or other studies to support the creation and expansion of the biofuel production capacity. The industry councils in each province and territory that administer AAFC's Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Program are delivering this new federal Initiative.

Funding Limits

Individual project funding will be capped at $300 000 and at least 25% of the total project cost must be provided as cash (no in-kind) by the industry from non-government sources, of which a minimum of one-third must come from agricultural producers.

Example

1. an approved project is received with a total cost of $300 000;
2. the industry portion must be at least 25% of the total project cost, which in this case would be $75 000;
3. a minimum of $25 000 (representing one-third of the industry portion) must come from agricultural producers;
4. the remaining $225 000 would come from Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative funding.

How to Apply

Please see the Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative Web site, or for projects which are regional in scope, please contact the industry council in your province or territory for guidance on their application process. Contact information for each council can be found on the Industry Councils - Contacts page.

*Note: "non-profit" also known as nonprofit organizations, non profit organizations, not-for-profit organizations, voluntary organizations and volunteer organizations.

Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Contact(s):
See National Contact.