City non-profit inks deal with subsidiary of leader in phosphate-based fertilizers

A Winnipeg non-profit committed to advancing digital agriculture has inked a deal with the North American subsidiary of a global leader in phosphate-based fertilizers.

Leaders from Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative and OCP North America signed a collaboration agreement last week. They said the collaboration will focus on advancing agricultural innovation through field-based research that will take place through EMILI’s Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert.

Innovation Farms spans more than 14,000 acres across two Manitoba farms to provide demonstrations, testing and validation of agriculture technology and production practices in commercial farm settings.

The partnership will allow EMILI to give Manitoba farmers a first-hand look at new innovations, said Jacqueline Keena, managing director.

“The motivation was to have farmers see what these innovations are and how they perform on a farm setting on the prairies,” she said. “They can see it in a context similar to their own rather than hear about it from a different region.”

OCP North America is the Minnesota-based subsidiary of the OCP Group, a Moroccan state-owned miner that has access to more than 70 per cent of the world’s phosphate rock reserves. Phosphate rock is processed to produce phosphorous, one of the three main nutrients most commonly used in fertilizers.

OCP Group has an obligation to ensure farmers around the world have access to phosphate, said Kevin Kimm, chief executive officer of OCP North America.

About 26 per cent of phosphates are consumed by Canadian farmers and the 105-year-old company believes partnering with EMILI will help it develop agriculture products, technologies and customer-focused knowledge to better serve the needs of Canadian farmers.

The partnership will combine EMILI’s expertise in digital agriculture with OCP North America’s knowledge in plant nutrition and soil science, per a news release.

“When you have two organizations that believe in scientifically improving opportunities for farmers economically, that’s the partnership that we really enjoy.”

Keena and Kimm signed the agreement Thursday late afternoon at the Manitoba Club. OCP North America hosted a reception afterward that was attended by members of Manitoba’s agriculture industry, local businesspeople and politicians.

“We’re just excited about the platform that EMILI provides and (that it’s) grounded in science,” Kimm said after signing the agreement. “When you have two organizations that believe in scientifically improving opportunities for farmers economically, that’s the partnership that we really enjoy.”

The two parties are just beginning to plan their projects and trials, Keena said, adding that they’re set to begin during the 2026 growing season.

The agreement has been in the works since May 2024. Philip Houde, a Manitoba businessman who serves as the Kingdom of Morocco’s honorary consul, introduced the parties.

“I really believe this is going to be very positive for OCP North America but also for EMILI and Innovation Farms and for Manitoba,” Houde said.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca