Funding & Financing Opportunities

Growing regional and local food systems together.

Take a look at the industry and government led funding and support programs available to farm, food, and drink businesses.

Funding and Financing Opportunities

  • Advance Payments Program (APP)
    • Provides producers with a cash advance based on the value of their agricultural products.
  • AgriInnovation
    • Provides funding and/or resources to organizations supporting pre-commercialization research, development, and knowledge transfer leading to innovative agriculture, agri-food, and agri-based practices, processes, and products.
  •  AgriInsurance
    • Provides producers with cost-shared insurance for natural hazards in order to minimize the financial implications of production and/or asset losses.
  •  AgriInvest
    • A national farm program that provides matching contributions to producers who make annual deposits to an AgriInvest account, to help manage income declines or make investments to mitigate risks of improving market income.
  • AgriMarketing Program (AMP) – Small to Medium Size Enterprises (SME)
    • Provides project-based funding to non-profit organizations and SMEs for promotional and market development activities
  • AgriRecovery
    • Initiatives developed under AgriRecovery provide financial assistance to help agricultural producers with the extraordinary costs of resuming business operations or otherwise containing the impacts of a disaster
  • AgriRisk Initiatives (ARI)
    • Provides financial and technical assistance to facilitate the development and adoption of private-sector or other producer-paid agricultural risk management tools.
  • AgriStability
    • A national whole farm program that provides income support to producers who experience a large margin decline.
  • Ag-Tech Venture Acceleration Program
    • Provides start-up and early stage agri-tech technology entrepreneurs with the coaching and resources they need to maximize commercialization opportunities and accelerate growth.
  • BC Agrifood and Seafood Market Development Preparedness Program
    • Designed to enhance the capacity of B.C.’s agri-food and seafood industry to take advantage of market development opportunities by supporting the development and acquisition of skills, knowledge, and services necessary to successfully compete in domestic and international markets.
  • BC Agrifoods Export Program
    • Enables BC industry to maintain and expand export markets through participation in international market development initiatives such as trade shows and outgoing missions.
  • BC Breeder and Feeder Association Loan Guarantee Program
    • Encourages the formation of farmer-owned cooperatives associations, which borrow money from banks and credit unions and purchase livestock for grazing on members’ farms and feedlots.
  • BC Rural Dividend
    • Assists rural communities with a population of 25,000 or less to reinvigorate and diversify their local economies.
  • Biosecurity & Surveillance Projects
    • Offer support for surveillance of plant diseases, animal diseases, and invasive plants, in addition to the implementation of on-farm biosecurity plans.
  •  Business Development Bank of Canada Financing
    • BDC offers turnkey financing and loans for entrepreneurs, designed to protect your cash flow and help grow your business.
  • Canadian Agricultural Loans Act (CALA) Program
    • Provides financial loan guarantees to farmers and agricultural cooperatives in order to establish, improve, and develop farms.
  • Community Futures
    • Community Futures provides support services for individuals wanting to start, expand, franchise, or sell a business in rural areas of BC. Services include business counseling and planning, workshops, training, loans and other investing.
  • Environmental Farm Plan (EFP)/Beneficial Management Practices
    • Supports farm operations to complete agri-environmental risk assessments with the assistance of a qualified planning advisory.
  • Export Development Canada (EDC)
    • EDC is Canada’s export credit agency, offering financial and risk management solutions to help Canadian businesses expand into the US and other international markets.
  • Farm Business Advisory Services Program
    • Provides funding for business consulting services, including farm self-assessments and action plans.
  • Farm Credit Canada
    • Provides financing, insurance, software, learning programs, and other business services to producers, agribusinesses, and agri-food operations.
  • Farm Debt Mediation Service
    • Provides financial counseling and mediation services to farmers in financial difficulty.
  • Futurpreneur Canada
    • Offers financing for young business owners and have partnered with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to offer loan programs.
  • Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF)
    • Invests federal and provincial funding in support of innovative projects to benefit the BC agri-food industry. Projects include, Emerging Sectors Initiative, Small Projects Grants, and Buy Local Funding.
  • Local Food Micro-Loan Fund
    • Farm Folk/City Folk (FFCF), in partnership with the Island Chefs Collaborative and Vancity Credit Union are offering a zero interest microloan to local food producers.
  • Market Intelligence and Advisory Services Program
    • Provides businesses and organizations with current and timely market information to support business development in domestic and international markets.
  • National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP)
    • Offers direct technical assistance, access to technological advances, expertise, facilities, resources, and may also provide cost-shared financing of technical projects
  • On-Farm Food Safety (OFFS) and Traceability Program
    • Provides cost-share funding to support BC farmers improve traceability and adopt good agricultural practices (GAPs) and/or recognized national or international on-farm food safety (OFFS) systems.
  • Post-Farm Food Safety and Traceability Program
    • Provides support for BC agri-food businesses to improve traceability, and adopt good manufacturing practices, best practices, and recognized food safety assurance systems.
  • Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Incentive Program
    • Businesses deduct SR&ED expenditures from their income for tax purposes, and receive a SR&ED Investment Tax Credit (ITC) that can be used to reduce Part 1 tax payable if any.
  • Skills Training Program
    • Skills Training Programs assist employers in providing certain types of training to their employees. These programs are administered through WorkBC.
  • SmartFarmBC
    • Provides farm business management information and farm business advisory services.
  • Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC)
    • SDTC invests in technologies that support the double bottom line of the environment and the economy, with a special emphasis on the challenges of climate change, clean air, soil, and water.
  • Traceability Adoption Program (TAP)
    • Provides cost-shared funding to agri-businesses to encourage adoption of facility-based traceability systems.
  • Vancity Small Growers Loan
    • Small Growers Loan favorable to small farms, young farmers and those farmers who are leasing land.
  • Western Economic Diversification Program
    • Works to improve the quality of life of western Canadians by being a leader in building a strong, competitive West through focusing on business development, innovation, and community development.
  • Women’s Enterprise Centre
    • A non-profit organization devoted to helping BC women start, lead and grow their own business. Providing business loans, business skills training, personalized business advice, mentoring, practical business resources, and more.