
The Perennial Crop Renewal Program supports producers to remove unproductive, diseased, or unmarketable cultivars and to adopt growing systems that are better suited to environmental conditions and market demands.
The Perennial Crop Renewal Program (PCRP) is an up to $15M program funded by the Government of BC through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (AF) and delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF).
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The Perennial Crop Renewal Program (PCRP) is a multi-commodity program that provides cost-shared funding that will be available to BC-based perennial crop producers to remove unproductive, diseased, or unmarketable cultivars; and to adopt growing systems that are better suited to environmental conditions and market demands, based on sector-specific opportunities. Funding will also be available to perennial crop associations and stakeholder groups to conduct sector development projects that evaluate or define agronomic and market opportunities.
Program Objective
- To support farmers to adapt to environmental and market conditions by diversifying, renovating, or expanding production.
- To support agricultural sectors to evaluate and define agronomic and market opportunities.
Program Goal
To increase the competitiveness and resiliency of the BC agri-food economy in domestic and global markets.
Eligibility Criteria
Applications
Application Process
Applicants will apply through the IAF Client Portal. The application process and required documents are specific to each funding stream. The application process will generally consist of:
IAF staff are available to answer questions regarding eligible activities, costs and/or the application process. IAF may also contact applicants for additional information or clarification to assess or strengthen their application.
Applicants can contact pcrp(at)iafbc.ca with any questions about the program or to receive support in developing their application.
Applicants are encouraged to include only activities they are confident will be completed on time and within budget limits.
Review and Adjudication
IAF will accept applications on a continuous basis with review and adjudication in batches based on the review dates noted. All applications received by the batch intake date will be reviewed by IAF for eligibility and completeness. Applications that meet program eligibility requirements will be scored and ranked based on the pre-set priorities and evaluation criteria for the application intake as provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
Eligible applications received through Stream 1: Sector Development Projects and Stream 3: Sector-Specific Planting Projects will be reviewed by a professional agrologist/technical expert to provide funding recommendations. Applications that best align with the prioritization and evaluation criteria will be offered funding first. Applications will be considered in batches until all available funding is committed.
Applications that are not successful will not be brought forward to the next review batch and applicants will need to re-apply for future consideration. All adjudication decisions are final.
Notifications & Obligations
Funding Notifications & Contracts
If the project is approved, IAF will inform the applicant of the details of the decision and any associated terms and conditions. The applicant then enters into an agreement with IAF which outlines the obligations of each party.
Funding is application and project-specific and must be used for the approved project and related expenses. Funds are non-transferable.
Project activities requiring financial resources cannot commence until the contribution agreement has been signed by both the applicant and IAF.
Projects funded in 2023 may begin on or after July 25, 2023, and must be completed according to the stream specific project timelines. No retroactive project reimbursements are eligible, except for Stream 3: Sector-Specific Planting Projects, which are eligible to submit back dated receipts (i.e. nursery plant order) up to one year prior to approval, if the expense has not previously been cost-shared and the field has not been planted.
If the project is not approved, the applicant will receive a written response from IAF.
Changes to Contracted Projects
If you are not able to complete your project or require a change, please inform the IAF Team as soon as possible using the IAF Client Portal.
Funding Acknowledgement
This program is funded by the Government of BC, as such acknowledgement of funding is required when publicly communicating about a project and/or funding. To ensure appropriate acknowledgement, all communications and marketing materials, including public announcements or social media posts, must be pre-approved by the IAF Communications Team. Materials can be submitted via the IAF Client Portal.
Reporting Requirements
Successful applicants must complete a final report and/or field inspection (if applicable) prior to receiving final payment from the program and may be required to submit interim activity and financial reporting. All required reports must be filled out and submitted to IAF to be considered for funding reimbursement. It is important reports are submitted on time and with all required information. Please retain all invoices and receipts, you may be asked to submit some or all receipt/invoices following a review of your report(s) by the IAF Team. Expenses for Streams 1 and 3 will be reimbursed based on audited receipts, financial report and the approved project budget. All reporting will be completed via the IAF Client Portal.
2023/24 Prioritization Framework
Stream |
Project type |
Ranking |
---|---|---|
Stream 1: Sector Development Projects Support sector level projects that evaluate or define agronomic and market opportunities. |
Market opportunity, competitiveness assessments and feasibility studies or climate change resiliency studies. | 1A |
Applied research projects that evaluate innovative growing systems, or existing cultivars in new climatic zones. | 1B | |
Research projects that evaluate costs of production and net return to growers that have participated in Stream 3. | 1C | |
Stream 2: Removal Projects
Support producers to remove unproductive, diseased, or unmarketable cultivars. |
Removal of unproductive, diseased, or unmarketable perennial crops. | 1A |
Stream 3: Sector-Specific Planting Projects
Adopt growing systems that are better suited to environmental conditions and market conditions. |
Planting perennial cultivars that are aligned with agronomic and market opportunities:
|
2A |
Planting perennial cultivars and adoption of growing systems that increase efficiencies in production or extend the harvest season. | 2B |
Evaluation Criteria
All applications will be evaluated based on a set of pre-determined criteria. The following are examples of evaluation criteria and considerations that will be used to score each application:
Stream 1: Sector Development Projects Evaluation Criteria
- Scope of Opportunity Assessment
- Quality of Contractor
- Quality of workplan
- Knowledge Transfer
- Quality of proposal (strength and quality of application)
Stream 2: Removal Projects Evaluation Criteria
- Rationale for crop removal
- Crop destruction method (best practices and in compliance)
- Proper disposal of supporting infrastructure
- Long term land use or ownership plan will ensure land is kept in agricultural production
- Quality of removal proposal (strength and quality of application)
Stream 3: Sector-Specific Planting Projects Evaluation Criteria
- Applicant experience growing crop on a commercial scale
- Applicant experience growing this crop for target market
- Applicant experience growing perennial crops on a commercial scale
- Likelihood of horticultural success of the proposed planting
- Variety has traits suitable for intended market
- Likelihood of market success
- Quality of replant plan (strength and quality of application)
Ready to Apply?
Resources
General
The following resources have been provided by the Ministry of Agriculture & Food to assist applicants in their project development.
Raspberries
The following resources have been provided by the Ministry of Agriculture & Food to assist applicants in their project development.
Hazelnut
The following resources have been provided by the Ministry of Agriculture & Food to assist applicants in their project development.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.