The On-Farm Biosecurity Initiative (OFBI) was a $2.9 million pilot program aimed at positioning Canada’s poultry sector to reduce the incidence and spread of avian influenza and other zoonotic diseases that threaten domestic poultry premises in Canada.

The OFBI was funded through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) fund. The Agricultural Adaptation Council received $800,000 to fund pilot projects for on-farm biosecurity which encompassed all sectors of the poultry industry in Ontario. Funds were allocated to 10 approved projects.

The OFBI complemented the objectives set out under the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) and further advanced progress toward its goals by engaging industry stakeholders in undertaking new activities which complemented existing programming. The OFBI also encouraged the sector to contribute to future agriculture and agri-food policy directions.

The program was launched in February 2006 and closed in September 2006.

Detailed information about completed projects is available by contacting the Agricultural Adaptation Council.