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B.C. funds agritech for future food security and jobs

On Jan. 26, the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food announced the first four businesses to receive funding through the recently launched B.C. Centre for Agritech Innovation (BCCAI). These four B.C. businesses are developing solutions to help ensure the province’s food systems remain secure, resilient and sustainable.

“We need to be continuously innovating and working together to improve local food production and access to food for people here in B.C.,” said Pam Alexis, provincial minister of agriculture and food. “Agritech is the future and the work these four companies are doing in partnership with the B.C. Centre for Agritech Innovation is helping ensure B.C.’s food systems are secure, resilient and sustainable.”

The four companies receiving a total investment of $540,000, including $122,500 from BCCAI, are:

• Aeroroot Systems (Surrey);
• Agrotek Industries (Burnaby);
• Bakerview EcoDairy (Abbotsford); and
• Lucent BioSciences (West Vancouver).

Each project is contributing to long-term priorities of agriculture in B.C., such as Indigenous food security and vertical farming, as well as increased and sustainable crop production. These projects are anticipated to be farm-ready for commercialization in two years, creating more than 30 well-paying jobs.

“The B.C. Centre for Agritech Innovation brings together academia, industry and government to create new opportunities in food production,” said Francis Drouin, parliamentary secretary to the federal minister of agriculture and agri-food, on behalf of Harjit S. Sajjan, federal Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada. “As we build Canada’s agriculture sector for the future, the Government of Canada will be here to support innovative, inclusive projects like these ones to ensure the sector’s prosperity and competitiveness for years to come.”

“Investment in agriculture is the best way to fight hunger, poverty and climate change,” said Sylvain Moreno, BCCAI scientific director. “These four champions are leading the B.C. agritechnology revolution and will guide British Columbia toward a better future.”