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B.C. Agri-Business Planning Program

Last updated on May 5, 2025

Claim forms for spring and fall 2024 intake are available through the claims portal.

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Program overview

B.C.'s Agri-Business Planning Program provides funding support for primary agricultural producers and agriculture, food and beverage processors to support informed decision making and ensure business development.

Funding is available under two streams:

  1. Agri-business skills and leadership development 
  2. Business planning, preparedness, and disaster recovery
     
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Program funding

Funding is provided through a reimbursement process to approved applicants.

 
Program stream Program funding amounts*
Stream 1: Agri-business skills and leadership development Up to 70 percent to a maximum contribution of $2,000 
Stream 2:  Business planning, preparedness, and disaster recovery

Up to $7,500 for individual business  
Up to $22,500 for groups

*Of Note:

  • Minimum reimbursement of $500
  • $10,000 annual maximum funding contribution per fiscal year (April to March)
  • Applicants may apply for one, or both streams at the same time
  • You may apply again in a subsequent fiscal year for distinct eligible activities
  • You cannot receive support for the same eligible activities under this program more than once during the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) funding cycle (2023 to 2028)
  • If the proposed project budget exceeds the approved funding limit, the applicant is responsible for paying the difference
 

Program eligibility

To be eligible for the Program, applicants must meet all the following eligibility requirements1:

  1. Must be a either a:
    • Primary agriculture producer
      • Growing or raising fresh food or agricultural products which are 100 percent grown or raised in British Columbia and are intended for sale2.

OR

  • Agriculture, food and beverage processor
    • Processing food, beverage, or agricultural products which are processed and packaged in B.C. with 51 percent or more of the direct cost of producing the product in its final form, for example, the sum of raw materials, direct labour, variable processing, and packaging originating in B.C. When the main raw materials are available in sufficient quantities from B.C. producers, they must be used
  1. Farm or processing business must 
    • Be a B.C. registered business taxable entity for example, sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, or other associations of persons or trust, with a GST and business number
    • File income tax under the Income Tax Act in British Columbia
    • Report total annual gross revenues greater than $50,000 in the previous year to Canada Revenue Agency
  2. All proprietors, partners, members, or shareholders must be residents of British Columbia
  3. Disclose any funding received/are receiving from any other B.C Ministry of Agriculture and Food Program(s) or any other Province of B.C. program(s) during the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable- CAP) Agreement

1 Additional documentation may be required to demonstrate eligibility.

2 For primary producers engaged in commercial agriculture production annual gross farm income is defined as income from sales of farm commodities including production insurance, crop and livestock sales including licensed cannabis production, and value-added farm products; but does not include income from custom work, (providing services to a person engaged in farming activities, i.e., providing landscaping) riding lessons, boarding horses, land and facilities rent, aquaculture, raising of pets, agri-tourism income, sales of forestry products and some agro-forestry products, government program payments, or any other non-commodity income.

 

Indigenous applicants

The province is committed to supporting the success of Indigenous businesses in the agriculture and food sector. We understand that Indigenous businesses may have distinct characteristics reflecting regulatory, operational, cultural, and other factors. We aim for flexibility in our program delivery to reduce barriers and ensure the accessibility of our programs.

Indigenous applicants are encouraged to reach out to program staff with any questions.

 

Program timeline

Program funding will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible applicants until the application deadline at 4:30 pm on November 15, 2024, OR when the funding has been fully allocated. 

Approved applicants will receive a letter confirming the approval of their application (“ABPP Approval Letter”) by end of October to mid-November 2024.

  • For Stream 1:
    • Your project may have a delayed start time
    • Applicants must have registered and paid for their learning and specialized training by February 15, 2025
    • Final Documents for reimbursement must be submitted within 30 days of training registration, and/or NO later than March 15, 2025
       
  • For Stream 2:
    • Your project may have a delayed start time
    • All projects must be completed within 90 days of approved start date
    • All projects must be completed on or before February 15, 2025
    • Applications to extend the project end date may be considered on a case-by-case basis, but WILL NOT be approved past February 15, 2025
    • All Final Documents for reimbursement must be submitted within 30 days of project completion, and/or NO later than March 15, 2025
 

Program contact

If you are interested in applying to the program but have questions about the application process or eligibility criteria, please contact program staff at Agribusiness@gov.bc.ca or call AgriSerivce at 1-888-221-7141.

 

Stream 1: Agri-business skills and leadership development

Goal: To support access to specialized training for business owners and key managers resulting in improved business management knowledge, adoption of practices and benefit(s) to the business. 

Funding Amount: reimbursement of up to 70 percent of eligible costs as outlined in your Learning Action Plan (fillable form) (DOCX, 968KB).

  • Minimum reimbursement of $500 to a maximum reimbursement of $2,000 per fiscal year
  • For example: Cost of eligible specialized training(s) of $715.00 at 70 percent = $500 funding provided  

Eligible Activities: Learning and specialized training, courses, registration, fees, and tuition for:

Ineligible Activities 

  • Travel costs
  • Acquiring programs, software, devices, stationary, required textbooks or other assets
  • Costs incurred before the receipt of the ABPP approval letter
  • Activities and costs for which the applicant has already received government funding
 

Stream 2: Business planning, preparedness and disaster recovery

Goals:  

  • To increase awareness, knowledge, and adoption of best business management practices and support business and sector growth and sustainability
  • To support businesses to proactively assess their financial situation as part of a comprehensive risk assessment plan and/or to assess the feasibility of the financial investment in growth, setting up a contingency fund, business interruption insurance, breakeven analysis, succession, sale of assets, debt service capacity, debt restructure and/or debt mediation
  • To support the development of immediate and long-term business recovery plans for businesses that have been impacted by an external event such as fire, flood, drought, tornado, disease outbreak, COVID-19, death, or illness

Funding amount:

  • Individual application
    • Reimbursement of up to $7,500
  • Group application:
    • Two applicants: reimbursement of up to $15,000
    • Three or more applicants: reimbursement of up to $22,500

Any costs that exceed the eligible funding amounts are the responsibility of the applicant.  

Eligible activities  

Business planning services and coaching from a qualified business consultant, as outlined in the program guide to create, update or renew a business plan focused on one, or a combination of, the following eligible activity areas: 

  • Business disaster recovery for example, drought, fire, flood
  • Business emergency planning preparedness 
  • Business structures 
  • Business strategy 
  • Cash flow and financial analysis 
  • Human resources 
  • Product development 
  • Production economics 
  • Risk assessment and mitigation 
  • Succession/transition planning 
  • Value added ventures 

 Ineligible activities  

  • Accounting, bookkeeping, income tax preparation, search of titles, off-farm investment planning and other costs associated with implementing the action plan 
  • Acquiring capital assets
  • Activities/costs associated with the preparation/compilation of applications and/or forms for other provincial or federal programs for example, crop insurance, AgriStability, AgriInvest, AgriRecovery, WorkSafe BC 
  • Costs associated with the gathering of data such as soil analysis, tissue analysis/germination and seed viability testing, crop scouting activities
  • Costs incurred before the receipt of the ABPP approval letter
  • Preparation of legal documents, contracts and/or formal agreements
 

How to apply

To apply for B.C.'s Agri-business Planning Program, please complete and submit the program application.

Applicants can apply for one or both streams. Late applications will not be accepted.

For steps to apply, please refer to the application checklist (PDF, 239KB) and the program guide (PDF, 1.1MB).

 

Forms

 

Resources

Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Farm Credit Canada

Farm Management Canada

Business planning template (Business Development Bank of Canada) 

Business plan writer (Futurepreneur Canada)

Foundations in Agricultural Management (University of Guelph) a free business planning course

Innovation and technology

Human resources

 

SCAP | Province of British Columbia | Government of Canada

"The ministry is there to support you in environmental farm planning. They'll help you with management plans. Check the ministry website for funding opportunities. ~ Dave Semmelink, Lentelus Farm

Lentelus Farm - Mixed stock rotational grazing with Dave Semmelink (YouTube)

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Contact information

Please contact us if you have questions about programs to support agriculture and seafood businesses.

 

Toll Free
1-888-221-7141
Email
Agribusiness@gov.bc.ca