The governments of Canada and Ontario have announced a joint $2 million investment to help small businesses in the agri-food sector expand, adopt new technologies and strengthen food safety standards.

The funding will be delivered through the second intake of Ontario’s Food Safety and Growth Initiative, a cost-share programme aimed at improving supply chain resilience and boosting the competitiveness of the province’s food manufacturing sector.

Under the initiative, eligible agri-food businesses employing fewer than 100 people can receive up to $75,000 per project for investments in specialised food production and processing.

Funding can support the purchase of advanced food safety equipment, the introduction of digital traceability systems and improvements to production processes.

Eligible businesses include companies that produce or service specialised food products, including bagged salads, cheese and ice cream.

The latest funding round builds on the programme’s launch in 2024. That round supported 90 projects and contributed to the creation of more than 70 full- and part-time jobs.

Applications for the new funding round will open on October 19, 2026, and close on March 1, 2027. The application period could close earlier if the available funding is fully committed.

The initiative is financed through the $3.5 billion Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial framework supporting Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector.

Industry representatives have welcomed the investment, highlighting the importance of small businesses to Ontario’s food processing industry. More than 90 per cent of the province’s over 4,000 food processing businesses are small enterprises.

The initiative is expected to provide small agri-food businesses with financial support to improve food safety, modernise operations and strengthen their ability to compete.

For small and medium-sized enterprises in food processing and manufacturing, the grants could also help lower the cost of adopting new equipment and technologies while improving their capacity to respond to changing market and supply-chain demands.

Source: msmeafricaonline