It is a fascinating journey. As an agriculture product moves through the food production system, there are many British Columbians who have worked hard to get that product on the shelf, so it is proudly displayed for consumers at the local farmers market, fishmonger or grocery store. 

Traceability systems closely follow the movement of animals, plants, food products or ingredients through all points of production, from the original source to the consumer. Traceability is paramount in the protection of animal health, public health and food safety. 

The Traceability Knowledge Transfer program, funded under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, is now available to agriculture and seafood industry organizations, to educate their memberships about traceability systems, practices, infrastructure and technologies, through events such as workshops, seminars, presentations or demonstrations.

Reimbursement funding is available to support traceability speakers at key industry events for B.C. agriculture and seafood organizations, focusing on one or more of the following traceability components:

• General traceability
• Premises identification
• Movement reporting
• Product identification

The funding supports up to 100% of costs associated with the traceability speaker’s expenses, to a maximum of $3,500 per event, or $10,000 per sector. Funding is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Applications and program criteria are available at: https://www2.qa.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/programs/traceability-knowledge-transfer

The program will run for the duration of the five-year Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial agreement that includes $2 billion in cost-shared strategic initiatives delivered by the provinces and territories, and $1 billion for federal programs and services through March 2023. The partnership replaces Growing Forward 2, which ended March 31, 2018.