Manitoba industry groups are encouraging members to take advantage of funding for food safety and traceability equipment.
On July 5, the provincial and federal governments announced the next round of money for the Pre-Approved Food Safety and Traceability Equipment Program, part of Manitoba’s slice of the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (S-CAP). The rebate program reimburses up to 60 per cent of the purchase of equipment from a pre-approved list. Both food safety items and traceability items have a funding cap of $30,000.
“As part of our core mandate, we provide food safety training to companies of all sizes,” said Michael Mikulak, executive director of Food and Beverage Manitoba. “Funding from S-CAP can help ensure that our province remains competitive and is able to access markets that require the highest standard of safety and traceability.”
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Why it matters: The funding has been linked to greater future competitiveness for Manitoba’s agriculture and agri-food products.
Eligible applicants include primary producers, agri-food processors, agri-product processors, licensed commercial kitchens, food and ingredient wholesalers, abattoirs and Indigenous communities, groups and governments.
Keystone Agricultural Producers general manager Brenna Mahoney said her organization is pleased to see the investment into Manitoba producers and food processors. She said she hopes members will take advantage of the money to help meet consumer demand for locally produced products.
“We encourage all producers looking to make these types of investments in their operations to take advantage of this funding opportunity through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership,” she said.
The program was rolled out last year. The inaugural year saw 37 projects approved for close to $200,000.
“Agri-food and agri-product businesses right across Manitoba are producing safe, top-quality food for folks here in Canada and around the world,” federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay said in the July 5 release, adding that investments through the program are “making sure (businesses) can modernize their operations, grow and stay competitive while tapping into new export markets.”
Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said programs like this help protect consumer safety and increase market access for Manitoba’s agricultural products.
“We are proud to provide programming that meets the demands of sustainability and that leverages traceability as an effective tool to prevent and respond to animal health or food emergencies, making Manitoba food products competitive on a global scale,” he said.
Applications will be accepted until Jan. 23, 2025. Details on the program, including a complete list of eligible expenses, are available on Manitoba Agriculture’s S-CAP funding page.
