Feds fund agriculture and food processing robotics projects

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.