British Columbia's agriculture sector will become more competitive by using a new and upgraded web-based platform that supports business and industry innovation, knowledge sharing and development.

The early December launch of www.agrifoodBC.ca will allow agri-food producers, processors and industry organizations increased access to commodity specific information, business risk management tools, emergency planning and agriculture research databases. The Agri-Food Knowledge Platform will also allow producers an additional access point for provincial and federal government programs, operations and information.

Federal funding totalling $250,900 is being provided by the Province of British Columbia, under Growing Forward, a federal-provincial-territorial agreement, to administer this project through the B.C. Agricultural Research & Development Corporation (ARDCorp), a wholly owned subsidiary of the B.C. Agriculture Council (BCAC).

The five-year Growing Forward Agreement ends in 2013 and includes $475 million in federal and provincial support to the B.C. agricultural sector to help provide income stability and insurance against losses through business risk management programs. An additional $78 million is being invested in programs designed to help farmers and other participants in the agricultural and agri-product sector increase their competitiveness and profitability.

NOTE: As part of its BC Jobs Plan (bcjobsplan.ca) , on March 16, 2012 the Province released a new, five-year agrifoods strategy, B.C. Agrifoods: A Strategy for Growth. What action can you take to inspire people to buy B.C. food? Join the conversation and share your ideas (engage.bcjobsplan.ca) .

Niki Pandachuck
Ministry of Agriculture
250 387-1693

Jackie Stewart
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
604 666-8851