Boosting Small Agri-food Businesses with Safety Investments
The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to help small businesses in the agriculture and food industry enhance their food safety systems and stimulate growth. If you are a producer who wants to improve in food safety and traceability, keep reading to find out more.
This funding, through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), aims to improve food safety and traceability systems.
The Food Safety and Growth Initiative will provide funding to eligible food processors, producers, and service providers.
This support will help them adopt new food safety and traceability equipment, technologies, and standards, and provide related training to employees.
This initiative will also enable operators to respond to market and consumer demands, promoting business growth.
This investment aligns with the Grow Ontario Strategy, which aims to strengthen the stability and competitiveness of Ontario’s agri-food supply chain.
The initiative will help smaller businesses build consumer confidence and support investments to detect, prevent, and mitigate food safety risks.
“It is vitally important that our farmers and food processors have access to the latest tools and resources they need to continue to produce their top-quality goods,” said the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “This investment in technology and equipment upgrades will help folks prevent and quickly address food safety risks and keep their operations on the cutting edge.”
“Our government is committed to working with smaller businesses in Ontario’s agriculture and food industry to help them ensure food safety so they can increase sales and expand,” said Rob Flack, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness. “Investments through the Food Safety and Growth Initiative will allow smaller food businesses to improve their operations so they can grow and compete in Ontario and outside our borders.”
Projects supported through this initiative include the development or improvement of food safety or traceability programs, equipment and technology upgrades, and first-time certification audits.
Successful projects can receive 50 per cent of eligible costs, up to $75,000 per project. Applications open on August 21, 2024, and will be accepted until December 1, 2025, or until funds are fully allocated.
The Sustainable CAP is a five-year, $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial, and territorial governments to strengthen Canada’s agriculture sector.
This includes $1 billion in federal programs and a $2.5-billion commitment cost-shared by federal and provincial/territorial governments.
The food and beverage processing industry are the largest employer in Ontario's manufacturing sector, with over 90% of the 4,000 companies being small businesses.
This funding announcement is designed to support these businesses by enhancing their food safety systems, upgrading their equipment, improving standards, and providing training.
This support will help them meet market and consumer demands more effectively and allow them to grow their businesses.
Kevin Schinkel, President of Meat and Poultry Ontario, praises the collaboration between the federal and provincial governments. He believes this investment will strengthen the food system's resilience by helping businesses improve their food safety practices.
According to him, this support benefits everyone by ensuring safer food production and promoting the growth of small agri-food businesses.