BC Agri-food & Seafood Market Development Program

The B.C. Agri-food and Seafood Market Development Program helps B.C. agri-food producers, agri-food and seafood processors, co-operatives and associations to identify, assess, target and develop market opportunities to increase their sales outside of B.C.

Program Announcement

If you have received confirmation of your eligibility and are in the process of completing your Project (Part B) Application, the IAF team is here to support you. Until November 29th, you can book an appointment to speak with one of our program coordinators who will review your draft application and provide feedback accordingly. To take advantage of this opportunity, submit your draft Project (Part B) Application form to marketdevelopment@iafbc.ca today! There are only a limited number of consultation appointments available and they will be booked on a first come first serve basis.

After November 29th the IAF team will no longer consult with applicants on their project application.  Incomplete applications will not be considered for funding. Please note that a complete application consists of up to three documents: (1) Part B Application Form (2) Part B Budget and (3) Pre-qualified Consultant ‘Project Overview Form’ (if applicable).

November 1st marked the closing date for Part A eligibility forms for the 2020/2021 funding cycle. IAF will continue to accept Part A eligibility forms on a rolling basis, however these will only be for consideration in the 2021/2022 funding cycle.

Program Information

The five-year Federal-Provincial cost-shared program, funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership,  supports:

  • the development of marketing skills and plans,
  • the creation of market research and export-focused promotional materials, and
  • participation in export-focused market development activities, including reaching new customers through interprovincial/ international trade shows.

The goal of the Program is to support the sector at each stage of export development through cost-shared funding for:

  • Marketing Information and Research: to identify, analyze and understand current and emerging market development opportunities in Canada and internationally by contracting qualified suppliers to conduct new market research studies.
  • Market Development Planning: to contract with qualified suppliers to develop marketing plans, export plans, and/or branding strategies for local, inter-provincial or international markets.
  • Marketing Skills Training: to support marketing staff to complete eligible marketing skills training courses at qualified educational institutions and to support industry associations to deliver marketing skills development workshops/seminars to their members.
  • Market Development Activities: to support to the sector to develop inter-provincial and international markets through participation in market development events, in-market promotions, trade shows and missions.
  • Marketing Collateral and Promotional Tools:  to increase in-market awareness and capabilities through the design, development, translation, and printing of marketing collateral and promotional tools specifically targeted at export markets.

Recent Project

Sutherland Gets Set For Market Development Tour

We recently sat down with Sutherland S.A. Produce as they prepared to embark on their 2019 export initiative. Thanks to Market Development funding […]

Read more

Upcoming Deadlines

  • Fri
    29
    Nov
    2019

    BC Agri-Food & Seafood Market Development Project Application Deadline

    4:30 pm

Program Guide for Applicants

Program Guide

For more detailed information on the B.C. Agri-food and Seafood Market Development Program, to include the program funding model, the eligibility criteria and how to apply, please refer to our NEW program guide

Download

Key Changes to the Application Process

Due to the popularity of this program IAF is changing the application process from a first-come first-serve basis to a competitive basis. This shift in process means that:

  1. There will be an application window for accepting Project Applications (Part B Applications): during this window, from October 1, 2019 until November 29, 2019, applicants will be able to book a maximum of 2 x 30-minute consultation calls with an IAF Program Coordinator for feedback and guidance on their application. After the application window closes, applicants will not be able to further develop project applications.
  2. Project Applications (Part B Applications) will be scored against a set of assessment criteria: after the application window closes all applications will be ranked. Only top-scoring applications will go forward for funding consideration. The program adjudication committee will decide which projects are approved for funding and all clients, regardless of the outcome, will be notified in mid-February 2020. All projects will have an April 1, 2020 start date and must be wrapped up by March 31, 2021.

While the application process is changing, please note that the program goals, objectives and eligible activities for the program remain the same.

The Steps to Funding

  • 1

    Part A -Program Eligibility Form

  • 2

    Notice of Eligibility

  • 3

    Engage with a Pre-qualified consultant

    For Market Research and Market Development Planning applications only

  • 4

    Part B - Project Application

  • 5

    Project Approval

Apply

To apply for the BC Agrifood & Seafood Market Development Program please complete the Program Eligibility Form (Part A) and submit to IAF at marketdevelopment(at)iafbc.ca.

Association, Board or Council

Part A of Application (Eligibility Confirmation) for Industry Association, Board, or Council

Apply

Producer, Processor or Cooperative

Part A of Application (Eligibility Confirmation) for Producers, Processors and Cooperatives

Apply

Following the successful completion of the Program Eligibility Form (Part A),  IAF staff will provide the Project Application (Part B) directly to eligible participants.

Resources

Funding Acknowledgement Requirements

Project materials must recognize the Government funding to qualify for cost-sharing.

NOTE: You are required to ensure the requirements are applied consistently in all project communications, materials and products, failure to do so may put committed funding at risk.

Funding Acknowledgement Requirements

Pre-qualified Consultants

For Market Research and Market Development Planning applicants

Pre-qualified Consultants

Eligible Marketing Skills Training Courses

For Market Skills Training applicants only.

Eligible Market Skills Training Courses