Agricultural Broker Program

The program helps create and support "broker" organizations and activities working between the agricultural sector, industry, government and universities to accelerate the identification of new strategic innovation opportunities.

The program will:

• strengthen existing, and support the creation of new, value chains;
• identify new and differentiated agricultural commodities for use in a wide range of new products and markets;
• strengthen the identification and adoption of new innovations by brokering between the agricultural sector, universities, government and industry;
• support the identification and development of new strategic innovation opportunities that combine knowledge and science to transform commodities to address newly identified market opportunities; and
• identify products derived from agricultural inputs which move producers/rural communities up the value chain and increase their share of agri-sector income.

Eligibility Criteria

Example organizations or entities that are eligible:

• agri-businesses
• cooperatives
• commodity groups
• municipal governments
• universities or colleges

These organizations must represent or involve agriculture to be eligible for consideration. Organizations can apply by sending a Letter of Intent (two-page initial proposal) to the Agricultural Policy Framework's Science and Innovation Director.

Deadline

2008-03-31

Summary

This contribution program supports a limited number of broker organizations activities in various sectors and regions to engage in agriculturally-based, value-chain activities.

The organizations will build links and identify opportunities to accelerate innovation across the value chain in areas of commercial and scientific promise for Canada, these resulting in new market opportunities for higher value, agri-based products and processes.

The organizations will engage in two key activities:

• building links and connections along existing and promising new value chains, among primary producers, large and small processors and manufacturers, and public and private funders of research, development and commercialization, with the objective of identifying new strategic business opportunities derived from advances in science and innovation; and
• supporting the development of multi-year, strategic plans and proposals which focus on identifying and facilitating access to markets, and includes the identification of public and private sources of funding. Outputs, in addition to strategic plans, may include project proposals to programs like the Agri-Innovation Program, the identification of suppliers of innovation knowledge, the negotiation of arrangements among members of value-chains and guidance in the preparation of applications. While the Broker Program can identify strategic opportunities for subsequent support by the Agri-Innovation Program it can also lead to subsequent investments from other sources to address the innovation opportunities.

New Brunswick Contact(s):
Mr. Kevin McCully
Director
Crop Development Branch
Agriculture and Aquaculture
P.O. Box 6000
Fredericton, New Brunswick  E3B 5H1
Telephone: 506-453-3481
Fax: 506-453-7978

Paul Milburn
Research Manager
Potato Research Centre
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Room 365, 3rd Floor
850 Lincoln Road
P.O. Box 20280
Fredericton, New Brunswick  E3B 4Z7
Telephone: 506-452-4845
Fax: 506-452-3212
E-mail: milburnp@agr.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.agr.gc.ca/index_e.phtml

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National Contact(s):
Lorne Heslop
Director
APF Science and Innovation
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Sir John Carling Building
930 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0C5
Telephone: 613-759-7798
Fax: 613-759-7797
E-mail: heslopl@agr.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.agr.gc.ca/index_e.phtml