Compensation program for chicken, turkey and egg producers

Jon|Mar 27, 2023

To all Canadian chicken, turkey and egg producers, especially those negatively impacted by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), we are extremely delighted to inform you that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced a new compensation program to support you in mitigating and overcoming the challenges posed to you by the CPTPP.

Canada supply managed egg, chicken and turkey farmers constitute one of the most essential pillars of the Canadian agriculture sector and the Canadian economy. Despite all the challenges caused by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, they never stopped providing the highest quality food products to the Canadian markets.

Since Canada is a participating member in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) -which is a free trade agreement between Canada and 10 other countries in the Asia-Pacific aiming to limit trade barriers between the country members-, Canadian chicken, turkey and egg producers have been experiencing significant losses and obstacles. CPTPP covers all aspects of trade in order to limit or even remove barriers between the participating countries, which is reducing the competitive advantage of local Canadian products over other imported ones.

In order to protect the vitality of the family farms and rural regions across the country, The Government of Canada committed to pay a full and fair compensation to the supply-managed sectors affected by the market access concessions made under the CPTPP.

This commitment manifests under 2 programs: The Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program and Market Development Program for Turkey and Chicken.

The poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program aims to boost the competitiveness of the Canadian poultry and egg producers, and improve their sustainability and environment-friendly practices. It includes providing the necessary funds:

For on-farm investments to allow production modernization,
To modify production procedures, meet the markets’ requirements, increase competitiveness and mitigate the risks of any potential market challenges.

This program will provide a total of $630 million over 10 years. These funds are non-repayable and cover all activities allowing the facility modernization, the increase in biosecurity, production efficiency, environmental sustainability, as well as compliance with changing customer’s demands. The mentioned allocations consist of:

$347.3 million for chicken producers, including $60.7 million estimated for the prairies
$59.6 million for turkey producers, including $11.5 million estimated for the prairies
$134 million for egg producers, including $32.5 million estimated for the prairies
$88.6 million for broiler hatching egg producers, including $17.4 million estimated for the prairies

Each producer is eligible to receive an allocation proportional to their quota holdings on January 1, 2021. Producers will be able to submit their applications later this spring. Even if the granted amount for all applications exceeds the total yearly program allocation, applications might be approved to be reimbursed for a future fiscal year in order to avoid delaying the start of any project. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will be sharing 70% of the projects’ costs, and up to 85% of the costs for applicant farmers under the age of 35 years old to encourage the youth’s contribution in the Agriculture and Agri-Food sector.

The second program is the Market Development program for turkey and chicken. This program aims to support marketing and promotional actions that would enhance the competitive advantage of Canadian products in the market, and leverage Canada’s reputation for the highest quality and food safety standards.

Eligible Applicants are required to prepare and present a multi-year marketing strategy to Agriculture and Agri Food Canada. When approved, the allocated funds can be invested in the following marketing activities:

Sector-wide advertising and promotion
Promotions building public trust in Canadian turkey and chicken products
Market research
Tactics used for development and/or expansion of target audiences
Increase in the delivery of current market development activities
Product development, product testing and research into new innovative processing and packaging technology at the primary and further processing level
Adaptation of current branding to meet changing consumer expectations

This program will be providing over $61 million to the Canadian turkey and chicken producers throughout the next 10 years. These funding allocations include:

$36.5 million for Canadian Turkey Farmers
$25 million for Canadian Chicken Farmers

Agriculture and Agri Food Canada will share the costs of the marketing activities constituting the multi year marketing strategy presented by the producer once approved at a ratio of 80%. Agriculture and Agri Food Canada may also contribute in up to 90% of costs funding for projects promoting inclusiveness and diversity in the market development activities supported by the program.