A new British Columbia program will provide up to $80,000 each for projects in agriculture, food processing or other sectors to improve food security in that province’s Indigenous communities.
The province on Wednesday rolled out a new Indigenous Food Systems and Agriculture Partnership Program, which is set up to take applications starting Monday (Sept. 26) until the end of October.
The program will provide support for Indigenous-led projects starting on or after Jan. 1, 2023 that “create benefits to the community, environment or toward increasing food security within local food systems.”
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Eligible activities include agriculture; food processing; food systems planning; training and skills development; technological adoption; scaling up productivity and profitability; and climate change adaptations, the province said.
First Nations and Indigenous communities, businesses and organizations are eligible to apply, the province said, noting projects for both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations will be considered.
Approved projects would “have the potential to be self-sustaining and demonstrate broad benefits” — that is, the benefit of the project’s activities must extend beyond a single person or business.
Proposals will be reviewed and funding decisions announced in November and December, the province said. If funding is still available, a second application intake will follow next fall.
Approved projects can run up to 24 months and must be completed no later than the end of 2024.
The new program was organized with the support of the B.C. Indigenous Advisory Council on Agriculture and Food (IACAF), which the province set up in July last year to help boost Indigenous participation in B.C.’s ag and food sectors and to “strengthen” Indigenous food systems.
IACAF advised on the new program in support of the council’s priority to “strengthen Indigenous food security (and) food sovereignty and build Indigenous and regional food system resilience,” council member Patrick Michell, a former elected chief with Kanaka Bar Indian Band, said in the province’s release Wednesday.
The Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. will handle program delivery, the province said. –– Glacier FarmMedia Network
