B.C. Agri-Business Planning Program Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable-CAP)
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Application checklist (PDF, 239 KB)
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On this page:
- Overview
- Funding
- Eligibility
- Timeline
- Contact
- Stream 1 Agri-Business Skills and Leadership Development
- Stream 2 Business Planning, Preparedness, and Disaster Recovery
- How to Apply
- Program guide
- Forms
- Resources
Program overview
The B.C. Agri-Business Planning Program (ABPP) provides funding support for primary agricultural producers and agriculture, food & beverage processors to support informed decision making and ensure business development.
Funding is available under two streams:
- Agri-Business Skills and Leadership Development
- Business Planning, Preparedness, and Disaster Recovery
Program applications will be accepted until 4:30pm on February 15, 2024, or until the Program funding is fully allocated for fiscal year 2023/24.
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% 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 |
*Minimum reimbursement of $500.00
* Stream 2 is eligible for an interim payment
To be eligible for the Program, applicants must meet all the following eligibility requirements1:
- Must be a either a
- Primary agriculture producer
- growing or raising fresh food or agricultural products which are 100% grown or raised in British Columbia and are intended for sale2.
- Primary agriculture producer
OR
- Agriculture, Food and Beverage Processor
- processing food, beverage, or agricultural products which are processed and packaged in B.C. with 51% or more of the direct cost of producing the product in its final form (i.e., 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
- Farm or processing business must
- Be a B.C. registered business taxable entity (e.g., 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
- All proprietors, partners, members, or shareholders must be residents of British Columbia.
- Disclose any funding received/are receiving from any other B.C Ministry of Agriculture and Food Program(s) or any other B.C. Government 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.
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 applications will be accepted until 4:30pm on February 15, 2024, or until the Program funding is fully allocated for fiscal year 2023/24.
- For Stream 1:
- Applicants must have registered and paid for their learning and specialized training by March 15, 2024.
- Final Documents for reimbursement must be submitted within 30 days of training registration.
- For Stream 2:
- All projects must be within 90 days of initiation date.
- All Final Documents for reimbursement must be submitted within 30 days of project completion.
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.
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% of eligible costs as outlined in your Learning Action Plan (Fillable Form) (DOCX, 968 KB).
- Minimum reimbursement of $500.00 to a maximum reimbursement of $2,000 per fiscal year.
- For example: Cost of eligible specialized training(s) of $715.00 @ 70% = $500 funding provided
Stream 1 is NOT eligible for an interim payment.
Eligible Activities: Learning and specialized training, courses, registration, fees, and tuition for:
- Business management including topics such as:
- Financial analysis
- Cash flow management
- Human resource management
- Cost of production
- Benchmarking
- Business leadership
- Business management conferences
Ineligible Activities
- Travel costs
- Acquiring programs, software, devices, stationary or other assets
- Costs incurred before the project start date.
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, emergency preparedness, or disaster recovery.
- 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.
Stream 2 is eligible for interim payment.
Any costs that exceed the eligible funding amounts are the responsibility of the applicant.
Eligible activities
- Business planning services and coaching from a business consultant (as outlined in 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 (e.g., drought, fire, flood)
- Business emergency planning preparedness
- Business structures
- Business strategy
- Product development
- Production economics
- Cash flow and financial analysis
- Human resources
- Value added ventures
- Risk assessment and mitigation
- Succession/transition planning
- Review and evaluation of existing business plan, strategy, financial and other relevant documents
- Meetings between consultant and business owner/operator, family, shareholders, partners, or key business individuals for project planning, goal setting, provision of advisory services and/or coaching, review of analysis and options, and development of plan
- Travel costs for the consultant for on-site meetings with the business owner/operator (receipts required)
- Travel costs must be reasonable, not exceed 20% of the project cost, and will be reviewed by the Ministry. Receipts for travel expenses must be submitted with the consultant invoice. No travel outside of B.C. will be reimbursed
- Production of written business plan and supporting documents
Ineligible activities
- Preparation of legal documents, contracts and/or formal agreements
- Accounting, bookkeeping, income tax preparation, search of titles, off-farm investment planning and other costs associated with implementing the action plan
- Acquiring capital assets
- Costs associated with the gathering of data (soil analysis, tissue analysis/germination and seed viability testing, crop scouting activities)
- Activities/costs associated with the preparation/compilation of applications and/or forms for other Provincial or Federal Programs (e.g., crop insurance, AgriStability, AgriInvest, AgriRecovery, Work Safe BC etc.)
- Costs incurred before the project start date
To apply for the B.C. Agri-Business Planning Program, complete and submit the Program Application here.
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, 239 KB) and/or the Program Guide (PDF, 1.1 MB).
- Program Guide (PDF, 1.1 MB)
- Application Checklist (PDF, 239 KB)
- Claim forms can be accessed here through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food – Program Operation Data System (PODS) Applicant Portal after mid December
- Direct Deposit Application Form (PDF, 407 KB
- Letter of Engagement for Services (Fillable Form) (DOCX, 284 KB)
- Meeting and Services Provision Log (Sample) (PDF, 176 KB)
- Meeting and Services Provision Log (Fillable Form) (DOCX, 270 KB)
- Learning Action Plan (Fillable Form) (DOCX, 968 KB)
- Taking Stock Action Plan (Fillable Form) (DOCX, 970 KB)
Ministry of Agriculture and Food
- Succession Planning Checklist (PDF, 173 KB)
- Farm Management Canada’s Recorded AgriWebinar: Taking Stock for Flood Recovery
- Business Plan Resources (PDF, 381 KB)
- Writing a Business Plan Check List (NEW) (PDF, 197 KB)
- Planning for Profits Sample Templates (Net Worth, Income and Expense, Cash Flow, Partial Budget, Crop Production Plan, Action Plan) (XLSX, 1.6 MB)
- Checklist - Preparing to meet your private insurance provider (PDF, 263 KB)
- Province of British Columbia Taking stock self assessment tools
- Towards Increased Profits (TIP) report to compare your own farm’s current year (income and expenses) to your previous 5-year average and to benchmarks with other farms of similar type and income range.
Farm Credit Canada
- Business plans for producers | FCC (fcc-fac.ca)
- Net Worth Statement (fcc-fac.ca)
- Know your cost of production for better decision making | FCC (fcc-fac.ca)
- How cash flow planning can benefit your business | FCC (fcc-fac.ca)
- Cash flow planning for food and beverage manufacturers | FCC (fcc-fac.ca)
- Preparing to meet your financial provider.
- Farm Management Canada’s comprehensive platform for managing farm risk: Agrishield