Canada Invests $50 Million in Agri-Food Innovation with Natural Products Canada

The Government of Canada has invested $50 million in Natural Products Canada (NPC), a project aimed at boosting innovation in Canada's agri-food sector. The investment, part of Canada's new National Food Security Strategy, was announced on July 28 by Heath MacDonald, minister of agriculture and agri-food.

As part of the project, NPC will establish a capacity building fund that will support investments in food-related manufacturing and processing capacity. This fund will offer $1-5 million to Canadian companies scaling production capacity in Canada.

The investment is expected to create more than 550 jobs, generate over $1.8 billion in GDP, and help strengthen domestic food production, supply chain resilience, and food security. Shelley King, CEO of NPC, stated that this investment will provide the continued opportunity to evaluate, support, and provide capital to companies contributing to Canada's bioeconomy.

The project focuses on two areas: Food Products, which includes crop inputs, animal feed, novel and functional ingredients, food safety, and preservation; and Food Technologies, which encompasses precision fermentation and cultivation, ingredient extraction, packaging, and food safety testing.