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In keeping with the Foundation's mandate to help agriculture adapt, diversify and grow, emerging sectors are one of our priorities. These sectors are expanding the frontiers of traditional agriculture or poised at the intersection of two quite different sectors, such as agriculture and tourism. They represent opportunity for agriculture and agri-food development, but not without risk. The Foundation's Emerging Sectors Initiative makes available a specialist to provide direct support and access to funding. Projects eligible for funding must contribute to building the entire sector.
What is an emerging sector?
Emerging sectors are those that have:
- emerging business opportunities
- leadership, vision and capacity to increase sectoral contributions to the provincial economy
- provincial five-year annual average market receipts of less than $10 million
They are characterized by a potential to introduce new production systems, products, markets, standards, processes, management practices or technologies. You may also recognize them by other characteristics like:
- Lacking in capital and cash
- Capturing niche market opportunities
- Responding to societal or consumer values
- Facing more risk
- Bridging or overlapping sectors
- Being driven and innovative
- Building social capital
What is the Emerging Sectors Initiative?
The Emerging Sectors Initiative (ESI) offers emerging sectors with a single window to access the wide range of funding programs we have available. Our main intent is to enable innovation, collaboration and strategic approaches in emerging sectors to identify opportunities, challenges and priorities. It is our vision that you'll recognize our support through ESI as a catalyst for the development and sustainability of emerging sectors.
Who is eligible?
ESI is open to all emerging sectors in the BC agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products industries and also includes those initiatives under the Agri-Food Futures Fund that have expired or run out of funding. Some examples are:
- Small scale/lot agriculture
- Natural health products
- Aboriginal agriculture
- Agri-tourism and direct farm marketing
- Natural-care agri-based products
- Bio-products
- Bioenergy
- Apiculture
- Small-scale food processing
- Women
- Mushrooms
What types of projects and activities are eligible?
Eligible projects will address the gaps in applied scientific knowledge, technology adaptation and transfer, pre-commercialization exploration, skills, business development, collaboration and links with potential partners, in order to seize new business opportunities.
When you submit an application for funding, your proposal will need to identify:
- a new business or growth opportunity;
- the needs and strategies to capture that opportunity;
- the major challenges and barriers;
- how the proposed activities will address these challenges and barriers; and
- how this will benefit the agriculture industry and/or Canadians in general
ESI is flexible and we will consider appropriate funding ratios according to the project's priority level, public good, degree of innovation, risk, rate of return, industry engagement and management.
Apply for Funding
Find everything you need to submit and application for funding ...
Projects and Results
Contact
us for a current list of approved projects.
General Inquiries about Funding
Phone: (250) 356-1662
Email:
Additional Resources
Emerging Sectors Initiative brochure
Contact your program manager (existing or returning clients)
Funding Provided By
Agri-Food Futures Fund
Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program
Growing Forward Agri-Innovation Program
Safety Net Companion Program
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