February 11th 2016
**Please note that the AgriMarketing Program has been replaced with CanExport Funding Program
New markets are what help businesses thrive. Don’t think of a strategic investment in your business as a step you might consider in the future. This is an essential stage in the profitability and growth of your business, and you should take it very seriously.
Performing market research isn’t easy, and it’s certainly not cheap, but it’s one of the best ways to ensure future stability for your business. Factoring future investments into products and planning for their execution takes a concerted effort. You need to manage your costs at every step, and justify every expense in the product cost.
Breaking into new markets requires exports, but one does not just magically develop business in international waters. Businesses need a plan, and they usually benefit from funding to see such a plan to completion. This is where the AgriMarketing Program comes into play. There are various streams to this funding initiative, but you might find the Market Development stream particularly useful.
This stream’s primary objective is raise the profile of agriculture, agri-based, and agri-food products on the domestic and international stage. It provides government funding for food processors to penetrate new markets, promote themselves to Canadian and international producers and consumers, and ensure the industry meets the standards of the market. It specifically focuses on projects with long-term international strategies for market development, enacted over a 3-5 year period.
Canadian agriculture, agri-food, fish, and seafood all rely heavily on exports and trades to encourage their success. Today’s global economy presents new challenges to which these organizations must respond accordingly.
Eligible applicants
All applicants must be ready to demonstrate measurable outcomes and results for the projects they propose, which should all have a multi-year strategy focused on long-term development. The Market Development stream encourages applicants from the following areas:
- Not-for-profit organizations at the national or sector-wide basis that specialize in agriculture, agri-food, seafood, and fish sectors
- Not for profit organizations at the regional level in the agriculture, agri-food, seafood, and fish sectors that illustrate production dominance in that region that would translate well to a national perspective
- Alliances and technical marketing organizations
All applicants must be members of the Canada Brand and demonstrate how they use this brand, or show how they get by without it. Individuals or other levels of government are ineligible to apply.
Eligible activities
All activities must fall within the following categories, and have a strong focus on building exports or increasing domestic market share:
- Market research
- Development and execution of market development and branding strategies
- Industry-wide branding and promotion
- Export capacity building
- Technical training for buyers about Canadian products, or technical support services to facilitate market entry
- Incoming, outgoing, and exploratory missions
- Participation or attendance at a relevant trades shows or fairs, and meetings/conferences
- Multi-industry trade advocacy
The Market Development stream gives preference to activities that encourage new market introduction, new emerging markets, or savvy responses to changes in consumer behaviour. If projects have a domestic-level focus, they should demonstrate benefits to multiple participants along a product value chain.
This stream does not support costs for product development and commercialization, research and analysis, employee or consultant training, day-to-day activities in an organization, or any other activity that the work plan did not approve.
Available funding for applicants
The maximum amount of government funding a food processor can receive is $2.5 million per year.
Costs need to fall within this stream’s government funding expectations. They should relate directly to the project in question, and they should adhere to the conditions and limitations set out in the guide. They cover administration costs, salaries and benefits for those managing the new projects, contracted services to execute these projects, travel costs, capital costs, and any other costs directly related to the project.
The time is now to apply for this government funding opportunity. The stream does not consider expenses incurred after March 31st, 2018. Get in touch with INAC Services to help get your application started today. The market won’t wait for you—get your organization the recognition it deserves. View INAC’s bulletin on the AgriMarketing program and get in touch with us today!
