The Province is taking a proactive approach to food and livestock traceability by partnering with the Government of Canada to help fund traceability programs.

Walking through the grocery store, it is interesting to think about where food comes from and the journey involved from farm to market. Understanding how that juicy looking apple or delicious looking steak arrived in a shopping bag requires good traceability systems.

Traceability systems provide important information about where a plant, animal or food product came from and its journey along the supply chain. This information can be a useful tool for protecting public health, food safety and animal health, and for reducing response time in an emergency situation. If a problem occurs, this information can also help limit economic and environmental impacts, protect brand reputation and maintain market access for agri-businesses.

Funding is available through four traceability programs under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership:

• Traceability Knowledge Transfer, to support industry associations and organizations to bring in traceability speakers to educate members.
• Traceability Adoption offers cost-shared project funding to agriculture, agri-food and seafood businesses to cover up to 70% of project costs that support the purchase and installation of traceability systems, practices, technologies or infrastructure (up to a maximum of $16,000).
• Livestock Tag Reader Rebate offers a rebate to cover 70% of the cost to purchase and install approved livestock tag readers (up to a maximum of $3,500).
• Traceability Value Chain offers cost-shared funding (70% of project costs) to support sector organizations or multiple agri-food or seafood businesses along a value chain to purchase or install traceability systems, practices, technologies or infrastructure to enhance traceability among project partners (up to a maximum of $50,000).

Learn More:

For additional information on the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, visit: www.agr.gc.ca/eng/about-us/key-departmental-initiatives/canadian-agricultural-partnership/?id=1461767369849

For information on traceability funding, visit: https://bctraceability.outcome-plus.com/

For additional information on traceability programs, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/food-safety/traceability

June 2018 news release announcing the Traceability Knowledge Transfer program: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018AGRI0038-001100

November 2018 news release announcing the Livestock Tag Reader Rebate program: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018AGRI0090-002274