Program directory · Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
AgriScience
- Department
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Program code
- BWO02 (AGR)
- Core responsibility
- Science and Innovation
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The AgriScience Program, under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, aims to accelerate innovation by providing funding and support for pre-commercial science activities and research that benefit the agriculture and agri-food sector and Canadians.
The program has 2 components:
Clusters — supports projects intended to mobilize industry, government and academia through partnerships, and address priority national themes and horizontal issues.
Projects — supports a single project or a smaller set of projects that would be less comprehensive than a Cluster.
Three program priority areas have been established:
Climate change and environment - activities can focus on greenhouse gas emissions reduction or carbon sequestration, climate change adaption, soil health, water quality, air quality, biodiversity, and plastics.
Economic growth and development - activities can focus on developing emerging technologies that address issues such as labour challenges, increasing productivity, improving input use efficiency, supporting alternative production systems and increasing value-added domestic and export sales of agriculture, food and agri-based industrial products.
Sector resilience and societal challenges - activities can focus on antimicrobial resistance, animal health and welfare, plant health, food security, biological alternatives to chemical inputs and the use of artificial intelligence and big data in agriculture.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| AgriScience | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $445M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Spending $78.6M, against $62.6M in 2018-19 (+26%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Employees (FTEs) 126, against 182 in 2022-23 (−31%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Spending $37.5M, against $64.5M in 2022-23 (−42%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $55.3M, against $37.5M in 2023-24 (+48%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Planned spending $89.8M, against $55.3M in 2024-25 (+62%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: Number of new technologies that are developed under funded activities | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Number of new technologies (new products, practices, processes and systems) that are developed under funded activities | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2028-29 | Planned spending $19.5M, against $79M in 2027-28 (−75%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | ≥ 1,100 | 2023 | 1,416 | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1,100 | 2024 | 30 The current target on GC InfoBase is based on previous framework, Canadian Agricultural Partnership that ended in 2023. A new multi-year target was set with target date March 2028 and will be reflected in subsequent reports. The 2023-24 result reported is based on the first year of recipient performance reporting under Sustainable CAP. The program target (to be updated) is cumulative for the life… | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 1,100 | 2025 | 129 "This is a multi-year target. The current target on GC InfoBase is based on previous framework, Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) that ended in 2023. A new multi-year target was set with target date March 2028 and will be reflected in subsequent reports. The 2024-25 result reported is based on the first two years of recipient performance reporting under Sustainable CAP, the current agricult… | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | ≥ 186 | 2023 | 240 | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 186 | 2024 | 16 The current target on GC InfoBase is based on previous framework, Canadian Agricultural Partnership that ended in 2023. A new multi-year target was set with target date March 2028 and will be reflected in subsequent reports. The 2023-24 result reported is based on the first year of recipient performance reporting under Sustainable CAP. The program target (to be updated) is cumulative for the life… | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 186 | 2025 | 62 "This is a multi-year target. The current target on GC InfoBase is based on previous framework, Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) that ended in 2023. A new multi-year target was set with target date March 2028 and will be reflected in subsequent reports. The 2024-25 result reported is based on the first two years of recipient performance reporting under Sustainable CAP, the current agricult… | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
No indicators in the 2026-27 plan.
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 590 | 2028 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 1,400 | 2028 | — | Planned |
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $86.2M | $62.6M |
| 2019-20 | $85.6M | $78.6M |
| 2020-21 | $92.1M | $66.2M |
| 2021-22 | $95M | $80.8M |
| 2022-23 | $80.6M | $64.5M |
| 2023-24 | $21.3M | $37.5M |
| 2024-25 | $89.5M | $55.3M |
| 2025-26 | $89.8M | — |
| 2026-27 | $88.6M | — |
| 2027-28 | $79M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $19.5M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 186 | 175 |
| 2019-20 | 157 | 188 |
| 2020-21 | 184 | 181 |
| 2021-22 | 155 | 204 |
| 2022-23 | 207 | 182 |
| 2023-24 | 176 | 126 |
| 2024-25 | 185 | 125 |
| 2025-26 | 123 | — |
| 2026-27 | 134 | — |
| 2027-28 | 134* | — |
| 2028-29 | 130* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $86,237,926 | $85,740,482 | $85,740,482 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $85,638,280 | $85,549,626 | $85,526,992 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $92,116,508 | $89,230,834 | $77,288,144 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $94,955,670 | $80,532,777 | $21,216,297 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $80,588,497 | $21,253,057 | $21,253,057 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $21,286,432 | $21,286,432 | $21,286,432 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $89,462,791 | $89,140,326 | $88,523,941 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $89,772,830 | $89,197,887 | $79,231,737 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $88,644,234 | $78,958,378 | $19,501,946 | ||||||||
| Actual | $62,551,944 | $78,599,953 | $66,199,485 | $80,832,096 | $64,474,988 | $37,495,416 | $55,316,233 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
