Feds fund agriculture and food processing robotics projects

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Published: April 8, 2024

(Jiraroj Praditcharoenkul/iStock/Getty Images)

The federal government pledged up to $5 million in funding for agriculture and food-processing robotics on Friday in hopes of addressing ongoing workforce challenges.

“These cutting-edge solutions will help the sector overcome some of the challenges it faces, leading to a more prosperous and competitive future for Canadian agriculture,” said federal Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay in an April 5 news release.

Five projects were funded up to $1 million each. These included projects to develop a robotic mushroom harvester, packer and harvest lift; another to develop a robotic arm to pick, harvest and de-leaf cucumbers and strawberries, a robotic arm to work alongside humans to harvest fruit and vegetables, and others related to task automation, the news release said.

About the author

Geralyn Wichers

Geralyn Wichers

Digital editor, news and national affairs

Geralyn graduated from Red River College's Creative Communications program in 2019 and launched directly into agricultural journalism with the Manitoba Co-operator. Her enterprising, colourful reporting has earned awards such as the Dick Beamish award for current affairs feature writing and a Canadian Online Publishing Award, and in 2023 she represented Canada in the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists' Alltech Young Leaders Program. Geralyn is a co-host of the Armchair Anabaptist podcast, cat lover, and thrift store connoisseur.

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