CAAIN
CAAIN
Edmonton, Alberta, June 24, 2025—The Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN) is pleased ed to announce it has received new funding from Prairies Economic Development (PrairiesCan). This collaboration will support the establishment and launch of a technology demonstration program, designed to accelerate the adoption by Alberta-based commercial farms of AI-focused agriculture technology developed by innovators operating in Canada’s Prairie Region.
“Canada has no shortage of innovation,” explained Darrell Petras, P.Ag., CAAIN’s CEO. “A quick look at https://caain.ca/our-projects/ reveals the remarkable ingenuity within the Canadian agtech sector. Consider that more than 80% of the projects CAAIN has supported depend on artificial intelligence. Thanks to our initial funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), we’ve already committed over $32 million to 36 agricultural technology projects. Those of us in this field know that the spirit of invention is thriving in our nation’s agriculture sector.
“However, what we do have is a scaling challenge,” Petras continued. “We must strengthen our ability to support the widespread adoption of these innovations across the country. Addressing this imbalance is precisely why we applied to PrairiesCan’s funding call. We believe this program is a critical step towards our vision of a nationwide network of smart and commercial farms, dedicated to validating and demonstrating emerging AI-based agtech across the country for the purpose of adoption by Canadian farmers.”
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“CAAIN is well known across Canada and internationally as an engine driving the development of Canadian agtech. Funding the development of exciting new technology carries responsibility. We believe it is incumbent on us to help our funded projects commercialize their innovations. Meaningful new innovation in agtech will produce growth in the economic value of agricultural output. The support PrairiesCan is providing through this funding envelope will help us realize that vision.”
Laura Kilcrease, Board Chair, CAAIN
The Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network is a not-for-profit company launched in July 2019 with initial funding of $49.5‑million from the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund. CAAIN drives collaborative agri-food technology research and innovation from coast to coast.
| Project Funding Inquiries Darrell Petras, P.Ag. CEO Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network darrell.petras@caain.ca |
Media Inquiries Eric Morin, CMP Director, Communications and Marketing Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network 780.405.3742 | eric.morin@caain.ca |
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