Andrew McClelland
The Advocate
The Quebec government has granted more than $7.4 million to finance projects by nine agri-technology innovation companies from different regions across the province.
The companies that will benefit from the funding were announced March 14 by Quebec Economy, Innovation and Energy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon.
The largest single amount from the $7.4-million envelope was awarded to Montérégie-based robotics designer SAMI Tech. The company will receive $2 million to work on improvements on a robotic machine that harvests broccoli.
First manufactured in 2021, the device consists of a farm tractor pushing a machine with robotic arms installed on both sides to pluck broccoli from the field. SAMI Tech hopes the robotic harvester could also be used for asparagus, celery, cabbage, weeding or for crop inventory in the field.
“Our government is committed to investing in agri-technology companies to help them implement innovative solutions specific to their sector,” said Fitzgibbon, who is also minister for Regional Economic Development and minister responsible for the Montreal Metropolitan Region in the CAQ cabinet. “I am convinced that this is how we will create more wealth for all of Quebec.”
Opti-com Solutions, a tech company based in St. Eustache that specializing in artificial intelligence, communications technologies and risk management, was also awarded a large sum. The company will receive nearly $1.8 million to design an air-disinfection and greenhouse-gas-and-odour-reduction system for pork and poultry operations. The system will use ultraviolet light and be operated through intelligent remote control.
Other recipients of funding are a Quebec City-based company developing a multipurpose “biopesticide” hoped to promote sustainable agriculture and replace chemical pesticides, a Montreal tech firm designing a humidity-management system to improve energy efficiency and plant production in greenhouses, and a Sherbrooke company creating a prototype of robotic equipment for precision mechanical weeding of root vegetables.
The $7.4-million announcement follows a call for projects launched by the Quebec government in the fall of 2022 to encourage the development of agricultural technologies adapted to the challenges of the farming industry. It is part of the CAQ’s larger Strategy for Research and Investment in Innovation aimed at supporting investments and the commercialization of business innovations over the five-year period from 2022 to 2027.