April 23, 2007

CALGARY, Alberta, – Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, today officially launched the ecoAgriculture Biofuels Capital initiative (ecoABC) at the site of a new biodiesel facility under construction. The $200 million initiative will increase renewable fuel capacity by helping agricultural producers construct or expand transportation biofuel production facilities.

To help to lower emissions and reduce greenhouse gases, Canada's New Government has committed to ensuring all gasoline in Canada contain an average of 5 percent renewable fuel content by 2010, and diesel fuel and heating oil in Canada contain an average of 2 percent by 2012.

"The ecoAgriculture Biofuels Capital Initiative is a significant boost for farmer participation in biofuels production. This is the first program to give farmers capital assistance to construct or expand biofuels facilities," said Minister Strahl. "With this initiative, we expect a potential increase in renewable fuel capacity of 1.5 billion litres."

ecoABC is a new federal four-year initiative to provide repayable contributions of up to $25 million per project to help farmers overcome the challenges of raising the capital necessary for the construction or expansion of biofuel production facilities.

Speaking concurrently at an ethanol-blend gas station in Quebec, the Honourable Christian Paradis, Secretary of State (Agriculture) stated: "The ecoAgriculture Biofuels Capital initiative is another important step that Canada's New Government is taking to create new economic opportunities for our farmers and the agricultural sector."

Funding for the ecoABC Initiative was initially announced on December 20, 2006, under the name Capital Assistance Formation Program (CFAP). Budget 2007 will allocate another $2 billion over seven years to support the production of renewable fuels in Canada.

ecoABC will be delivered nationally by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. For more information on this initiative, or to access a program Letter of Interest form and instructions please visit www.agr.gc.ca/ecoabc, call 1-866-367-8506, or e-mail: ecoABC@agr.gc.ca.

• Backgrounder - Assisting farmers to participate in biofuels