1. What is ACAAF?
On April 7, 2004, The Honourable Bob Speller, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) Program as a successor to the Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development (CARD) Fund.

ACAAF is a five-year, $255 million funding program that will continue CARD’s cooperative approach to funding projects at the national, multi-regional and regional level.

2. What is the Regional Funding Allocation?
Annual allocations to the regional councils across Canada have increased. In addition to an increase in the base funding allocation Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has included an incentive for Collective Outcome projects.

Ontario’s allocation is expected to be as follows:
Ontario’s Annual Base Allocation - $7,336,297
Matching ACAAF Funds Available for Collective Outcomes - $1,100,445
TOTAL Available Resources - $8,436,742

3. When will ACAAF program delivery begin?
The Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) will submit a proposal to AAFC by May 31, 2004, to administer the program in Ontario.

Applications for national projects are currently being accepted by the AAFC directly, with a May 31, 2004 deadline. Additional calls for applications will occur semi-annually. Further information regarding the application process, deadlines, and eligibility requirements for national projects can be found at www.agr.gc.ca/acaaf. 

4. What will ACAAF Fund?
The ACAAF program will focus on the following three pillars:

• Pillar I: Industry-led solutions to Emerging Issue - which supports projects that test or pilot approaches and solutions.
• Pillar II: Capturing Market Opportunities by Advancing Research Results - which supports projects that transfer research results into market opportunities.
• Pillar III: Sharing Information to Advance the Sector - which supports projects aimed at gathering and analyzing and sharing information to contribute to future agriculture and agri-food policy directions.

5. Is The AAC Currently Accepting Applications For Existing Programs?
Yes. The AAC continues to accept applications utilizing CARD funds under our existing programs - CanAdapt, CanAdapt Small Projects Initiative and the CanAdapt Value Chains Initiative. However, the Board of Directors will meet on April 28th, 2004 to decide a course of action for the implementation of the ACAAF Program. At this point in time we are unsure how long the CARD funds will be available. We will continue to keep you apprised of these changes. For application forms please visit our Web site at www.adaptcouncil.org  or call (519) 822-7554.

Please thank your local Member of Parliament for their support of this new program!