Page 64 - InvestinAlberta-EDA-2024-2

AT A GLANCE
69,800
Number of Albertans employed
in the agriculture and agri-food sector
Processing at Home for Global Markets
$16.23
Alberta food-based companies serve
local and global food markets — and Leduc’s Food Processing Development Centre (FPDC) ensures those companies have all the support they need.
With over $20 million in equipment housed in a 65,000 square foot-plant, the centre fosters food, beverage and ingredient- manufacturing companies of all sizes through their growth and commercialization.
With access to technical consultations,
More Food, Please
As global demand for food is expected to increase by up to 56 per cent by 2050, Alberta is focused on furthering its competitive advantage for agriculture processing with a new tax credit, introduced in spring 2023.
This tax credit, called the Agri-processing Investment Tax Credit, provides a 12 per
cent non-refundable tax credit against eligible capital expenditures for businesses who are investing $10 million or more
to build or expand their agri-processing facilities in the province.
“Alberta has the fundamentals to take our value-added agriculture industry to new heights and meet the increasing global
pilot plant development, scale-up and interim processing services — along with the centre’s 40 motivated and experienced staff members’ guidance — small primary producers
and large multinationals receive valuable resources and feedback across all stages of their development.
At the FPDC, companies turn specialized facilities and applied research into tasty and safe food products for Albertans, and people around the world.
demand for food. The new agri-processing tax credit will allow us to attract large-scale agri-food projects that will help grow our industry, increase opportunities for primary producers, create jobs and feed the world,” says Nate Horner, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation
With this tax credit, on top of Alberta’s established competitive advantages, ensures that the province is able to
garner further investment in the food manufacturing sector, which saw a
record $20.1 billion of sales in 2021 and accounted for over 23 per cent of the total manufacturing sales in the province.
BILLION
Value of Alberta’s exports of food and agriculture in 2022
ALBERTA PRODUCES:
48%
of Canada’s barley
32%
of Canada’s wheat
29%
of Canada’s canola
20%
of Canada’s oats
ALBERTA’S TOP 5
AGRI-FOODS EXPORTS
BY COUNTRY ($ MILLIONS CAD)
United States
China Japan
2,463 1,732
Mexico 867 South Korea 818
Sources: Government of Alberta, Statistics Canada
64 INVEST IN ALBERTA 2 0 2 4
EDAAlberta.ca
BY THE NUMBERS
7,271
SUNSHINE, FARMS AND INNOVATION EQUALS PROSPERITY
Conferences about agriculture used to be focused on, well, agriculture. Modern, highly anticipated ag conferences, like
the Cypress Count Ag Connections Conference held in November 2023, cover timely, in-depth topics about the state of the industry, including finding operational efficiencies, the global economic outlook for ag commodities, renewable energy — and mental health.
Another distinct focus is the interest in farm to table. Producers are finding ways to meet the demand for locally-raised
and sustainably-produced food products. Producers, industry experts and other
stakeholders come together to share knowledge and discuss the ever-evolving challenges of the agricultural sector.
Cypress County is located in southeastern Alberta and surrounds the City of Medicine Hat. With over 800 farms and 2.3 million acres of pasture, the county boasts livestock and greenhouse operations, dryland farming, as well as irrigated crops.
With ample sunshine and excellent transportation routes, this area brings together key producers and niche innovators to combine economic prosperity while preserving its rural communities.