Project Category: preventing introduction and spread of pests through isolation, sanitation and controlling work flow

The following costs are eligible for the purposes of the Initiative, provided they were reasonably incurred and necessary to complete the Recipient’s Project:

• Costs that were incurred after the Project approval date but before the Project completion date.
• Costs that reflect the actual costs to the Recipient, less any costs, including taxes, for which the Recipient has received, will receive or is eligible to receive, a rebate, credit or refund.
• Deposits may be considered if they are made on or after September 19, 2023.
• Incremental salary and wages of the Recipient’s employees, excluding severance pay, who are working directly on the Project. Where those employees are not dedicated solely to working on the Project, the salaries and benefits must be pro-rated to reflect that portion of the salaries and benefits that apply to solely working on the Project.
• For Primary Producers only, in-kind costs of unpaid labour (at a rate of $25 per hour) and use of own equipment (at a rate of $75 per hour) up to a combined total in-kind costs of $7,000.
• Material costs, rental equipment costs and service fees to modify or add to existing structures in order to:
  • establish an anteroom or header house into high-risk areas, such as propagation areas for susceptible crops
  • clearly define zones and access points through grading or landscaping and installing signage, fencing, pest-proof barriers, and/or vertebrate deterrent options
  • control access to operation and buildings through installing gates, fencing, signage, locks, barriers or security monitoring
• Material costs, equipment rental costs and service fees to construct a hard surface (for example, concrete pad) or wash bay for cleaning and disinfecting vehicles and equipment within a CAZ (Controlled Access Zone) or at a CAP (Controlled Access Point), including:
  • installation of sanitation facilities at CAPs or anterooms to higher risk areas, which must be part of a complete transition area for effective biosecurity
  • replacing porous interior surfaces (for example, walls, flooring, dividers) with non-porous washable materials such as concrete, puck board or stainless steel
• Material costs, equipment rental costs and service fees to install specialized cleaning and disinfection equipment (for example, tractor attachments for cleanout, permanent footbaths, equipment to sterilize pots or beds) or modify existing equipment to increase cleaning and disinfection (for example, sterilization of existing conveyor belts).
• Material costs, equipment rental costs and service fees to install treatment systems for the purpose of disinfecting or removing pathogens, particulate, crop residue or contaminants from water.
• Material costs, equipment rental costs and service fees to construct a new structure used only as a quarantine or isolation facility or modification of an existing structure to be used only as a quarantine or isolation facility that reduces biosecurity risks identified in the Recipient’s biosecurity assessment:
  • must have separate air space, controlled access point and be easily cleaned and disinfected
  • includes modification of existing structures to create segregation areas for distinct cohorts (for example, new plant shipments) or between areas of high-risk and low-risk (for example, propagation vs. production)
• Costs for the emergency elimination of plant or soil materials posing a biosecurity risk to plant health (for example, contaminated by spores or pests), specifically:
  • construction materials to build a containment area to hold contaminated plant material or soil until destruction or movement to a proper waste management facility
  • third-party trucking expenses to move contaminated plant or soil to proper waste management facility
  • expenses incurred from implementation of sanitation procedures by an external company, or internal costs of purchasing sanitation supplies
• Signage, fencing, gates, locks, pest-proof barriers, security monitoring equipment, and/or vertebrate deterrent options (for example, lasers/optical deterrents, bird netting and electric fencing) to control access to the operation for biosecurity purposes, and/or to clearly define zones and access points.
• Material costs, equipment rental costs and service fees to prevent pests in greenhouses by installing screening on production facilities, installing specialized spray equipment (such as bespoke boom sprayers or Low Volume Mist sprayers that deliver microbial pesticides), specialized disinfection equipment for pathogen control (such as tray sanitizers), and applying gravel around the perimeter of production facilities (1 metre strip, 6 inches deep).