The Protection and Risk Resilience: Plant Health Designated Program

Deadline: the designated Program will end on March 31, 2028.

The purpose of the Protection and Risk Resilience: Plant Health Designated Program is to increase capacity to develop, enhance, and implement effective protection and risk resilience practices and activities related to plant health to mitigate real and potential risks and ensure integrity across the agri-food system.

Eligible Activities

The following activities are eligible to be undertaken under the Protection and Risk Resilience: Plant Health Designated Program, including any Initiative established thereunder:

1. Adopting assurance systems, certification systems and best practices that improve plant health
2. Adopting assurance systems and best practices along the value chain, including higher food safety standards, codes of practices, certification/audit programs and risk preparedness and resilience practice that address consumer confidence and public trust;
3. Developing tools and resources to identify, evaluate and address risks and promote practices or systems that support risk-resilience and integrity across the agri-food system;
4. Making operational changes that improve protection and risk resilience outcomes for plant health which may include equipment purchases or upgrades, facility improvements or emergency management activities management;
5. Monitoring, surveillance, data collection, lab testing and analysis, including development and/or improvements to diagnostic tools, processes, equipment or capacity to improve the agri-food system’s ability to detect, predict and manage risks;
6. Information management and risk sharing platforms that increase co-ordination and efficacy of protection and risk resilience activities;
7. Sector innovation to increase plant health including activities along the innovation development and commercialization/adoption continuum and digital accessibility;
8. Promoting knowledge translation and transfer activities, awareness, training, resources, education, skill development and advisory services to support the Sector in understanding risks, risk management/mitigation strategies, close knowledge gaps, adopt best practices and align with the National Plant and Animal Health Strategy;
9. Applied research or modeling to fill knowledge gaps, test proof of concepts and develop innovative alternatives, technologies or management practice;
10. Sector-led research, pilot projects and demonstrations related to protection and risk resilience;
11. Developing policy and programs, co-ordination and evaluation activities related to protection and risk resilience;
12. Upgrading protection and risk resilience systems or activities while encouraging modernization and Sector productivity through the adoption of technology-based solutions, self-assurance and monitoring;
13. Emergency preparedness activities and adoption of technology-based solutions to improve the Sector’s ability to anticipate and respond quickly to risks and engage in self-assurance/monitoring actions;
14. Addressing specific gaps in plant health;
15. Audits to better understand facility or Sector needs to encourage adoption of relevant best practices;
16. Developing integrated networks of protection and risk resilience which incorporates expert oversight, information and data networks as well as development of processes to provide advice and Sector co-ordination;
17. Developing organizational capacity to support protection and risk resilience best practices;
18. Addressing diversity, equity and inclusion, including operational and maintenance costs, to reduce barriers of entry and assist underrepresented or marginalized groups;
19. Communicating success stories that build public trust and improve understanding of the Sector’s successes related to protection and risk resilience, and plant health; and
20. Any activity set out in:
    1. A Recipient’s Transfer Payment Agreement or a Vendor’s Service Level Agreement, or
    2. Any Designated Program Guidelines for the Protection and Risk Resilience: Plant Health Designated Program or any Initiative Guidelines for any Initiative established under the Protection and Risk Resilience: Plant Health Designated Program,

provided that activity falls within the purpose of the Protection and Risk Resilience: Plant Health Designated Program.

Eligible Persons

The following are eligible to participate in the Protection and Risk Resilience: Plant Health Designated Program, including any Initiative established thereunder:

1. 1. Primary Producers;
   2. Processors;
   3. Industry Organizations;
   4. Research Bodies;
   5. Retailer/Wholesalers;
   6. Service Providers;
   7. P/T/M Governments; and
   8. Indigenous Peoples.