Local Agricultural Initiatives Receive $130,000 in Funding Through Agricultural Enhancement Grants Program

We’re thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2023 Agricultural Enhancement Grants. We granted a total of $130,000 to four agricultural initiatives that will allow the Abbotsford agricultural industry to continue to thrive and withstand the challenges of the future.

Check out the list of organizations that received funding and their agricultural enhancement initiatives:

2023 Agricultural Enhancement Grant Recipients

➡️ BC Honey Producers Association – $35,000
Evaluating a Novel Acaricide for the Control of Varroa Mites (Varroa destructor) in Honey Bee Colonies

➡️ BCIT =/Volatus Aerospace – $50,000
Science Experiential Aerial Research (SEAR) Crop Disease Project

➡️ Invasive Species Council of BC – $35,000
Agricultural Invasive Species Mitigation

➡️ University of the Fraser Valley/Ramsar Berry Farms – $10,000
Can we grow a profitable, high-quality Saffron in the Fraser Valley?

Our Agricultural Enhancement Grants program, established in 2011, is offered in partnership with the City of Abbotsford. “We are proud to partner with the City of Abbotsford to provide grants annually to our farming community,” said Marcus Janzen, our Board Chair and Chair of our Agricultural Enhancement Grants committee. “ACF has provided more than $1 million through our Agriculture Enhancement grants over the past ten years in support of one of Abbotsford’s key economic drivers.” added Janzen.

This year, the Agricultural Enhancement Grants program focused on agricultural innovation, specifically as it relates to value added agricultural innovation and product development, including solutions for product to market supply chains, diversification of farming operations, Agri Tourism or climate change adaptation or mitigation, all to benefit the agricultural sector in Abbotsford. Each of the grant recipients have projects that meet these criteria, and the committee is excited about their potential. Our Agriculture Grants Committee is comprised of local farmers and individuals with a passion for serving the Abbotsford farming community.

Areni Kelleppan, our Executive Director, commented that there were a number of worthy applications across all sectors of the agriculture industry. “Our Agriculture Grants Committee chose four projects that have significant potential to address all kinds of challenges that local farmers face.”

A presentation of this year’s grants was held on June 23rd at Campbell’s Gold Honey Farm & Meadery featuring a light lunch that utilized the talents of a few of our local small businesses. Each recipient was given the opportunity to share an overview of their project and its potential impact on the agricultural industry.

Pictured above is Marcus Janzen, our Board Chair and Chair of our Agricultural Enhancement Grants committee, along with Mayor Ross Siemens, with this year’s grant recipients.

For more information on how to support the Agricultural Enhancement Grants program, click here.