ACAAFS surpasses 100-project mark in Saskatchewan

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

An initiative that helps position Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector at the leading edge of capturing new opportunities has now funded more than 100 projects in Saskatchewan.

The Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Saskatchewan (ACAAFS) program was launched in April 2004 as a five-year commitment and invests $3.22 million annually to strengthen the province’s agricultural industry.

As of December 2006, a total of 103 projects had been approved for an overall ACAAFS commitment of more than $5.3 million.

The program is delivered within the province by the Saskatchewan Council for Community Development (SCCD). SCCD Executive Director Laurie Dmytryshyn says that the program has a fairly broad set of criteria so that a wide variety of projects can be considered for ACAAFS funding.

The program has been built around three pillars. Pillar I focuses on industry-led solutions to emerging issues. This includes industry-led projects that test new ideas and approaches. Funding is intended to assist the agriculture and agri-food sector in responding to current and emerging issues, and capturing new opportunities through collaborative projects.

“Under this pillar, we aim to support the development of new ideas, or new value-added products and processes,” Dmytryshyn explained. “The intent is to take advantage of opportunities for growth and diversification in areas that are recognized as industry priorities.”

Pillar II deals with capturing market opportunities by advancing research results. This pillar assists in creating market opportunities within the agriculture and agri-food sector by transferring research results from industry, government and educational institutions. The goal is to encourage business growth and improve the sector’s competitiveness through the commercialization of research results.

“Examples of projects funded here are business plans, marketing plans, feasibility studies, market assessments, engineering work and product prototypes,” said Dmytryshyn.

Pillar III supports sharing information to advance the sector. Funding provided under this pillar is intended to assist the agriculture and agri-food sector in gathering, analyzing and sharing information that will strengthen its ability to participate in the policy dialogue and shape the future of the industry.

“This pillar is more policy-oriented,” Dmytryshyn noted. “For example, health and wellness is obviously a priority area, so if there is a policy issue that needs to be addressed through a workshop combining health and agriculture, there may be an opportunity to seek funding assistance.”

Sandy Purdy is one of the applicants whose project was approved for ACAAFS funding in 2006. Purdy, the owner and operator of Prairie Berries Inc. in Keeler, received support to develop and test a dried saskatoon berry product that could lead to greater demand in the saskatoon market and increased value-added processing within the province.

Without this kind of program, she feels many smaller entrepreneurs like her might not be able to bring their good ideas to reality. “Without funding from ACAAFS, some of these projects would be out of the reach of small businesses like mine,” Purdy said. “We have small cash flows for research and development, and we’re just trying to pay the bills and stay alive. So these things wouldn’t be possible if ACAAFS didn’t exist.”

ACAAFS project decisions are made by the SCCD Board of Directors, which meets five times during the year to review applications. There is a separate, fast-tracked process for projects requesting under $10,000 in funding. “This provides a bit more flexibility for applicants if they’ve got a smaller project they want to get going on fairly quickly,” Dmytryshyn said.

The next ACAAFS application deadline is March 26 for projects seeking more than $10,000, and February 9 for requests under $10,000. However, there are additional deadlines throughout the year where projects can be submitted for consideration.

Groups or individuals interested in learning more about ACAAFS or obtaining an application package can visit the programs section on the SCCD website at www.sccd.sk.ca/acaafs, or contact the SCCD at (306) 975-6849.

For further information, contact:

Dallas Carpenter, Communications Officer
Saskatchewan Council for Community Development
Phone: (306) 975-6856
E-mail: carpenterd@sccd.sk.ca
Website: www.sccd.sk.ca

Sandy Purdy
Prairie Berries Inc.
Phone: (306) 788-2018
E-mail: prairieberries@sasktel.net