More funding is now available for Manitoba food processors under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Manitoba Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson announced today.
Non-repayable cost-shared funding is now available for small and large businesses engaged in Manitoba's value-added food processing sector towards the purchase of processing-related equipment. Eligible amounts available under the Capital Infrastructure and Investments program range from $50,000 up to $2.5 million depending on project size.
Four new funding streams have been added to help companies in Manitoba's agri-processing sector scale their businesses to increase productivity, efficiency and profitability:
- Capital assets - processing equipment: this stream supports the growth and expansion of Manitoba's agri-processing sector through capital investment purchases for modernization activities that enhance efficiency, productivity and environmental sustainability;
- Capital assets - enterprise resource planning software: this stream supports the continued growth of companies through the implementation of software that will help to manage operations, increase efficiency and increase profitability by integrating company operations;
- Quality control capacity building: this stream helps companies build capacity for quality assurance within their facility to monitor and manage potential issues caused by microbial growth, or chemical or physical contamination; and
- Co-packing capacity building: this stream supports entrepreneurs to scale-up their food businesses by offering and increasing funding for co-packing services.
Under the Sustainable CAP, the Manitoba government will also offer a Market Development program, which provides non-repayable cost-shared funding for businesses engaged in Manitoba's value-added food processing sector for market development activities that enhance interprovincial trade and export capacity of individual businesses and improve overall domestic and international trade access for the sector. The program will provide a 50 per cent cost-share toward eligible expenses for a maximum grant per project of $30,000.
The program provides funding in the following areas to help launch new products, increase market access by mitigating non-tariff barriers and expand to domestic and international markets:
- Market information and research: supports the acquisition of marketplace knowledge and identifies the viability of a product's successful entry into a new market;
- Market development, planning and training: supports the development of marketing and export capacities that will address non-tariff related market access barriers and support business growth domestically and internationally;
- Product commercialization: supports the pre-commercialization, commercialization and enhancement of new and existing innovative products to market; and
- Domestic and international development activities: supports business expansion in new and existing domestic and international markets. This includes support for companies to participate in business-to-business trade shows.
