Grant: Lab to Market grants

Sustainable Food Systems for Canada (SF4C) is a national innovation and entrepreneurship training platform designed to close Canada’s productivity gap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Harnessing innovations to allow Canada to produce more food with fewer emission is a massive opportunity for our country. Canada’s agriculture and food industry provides 1 in 9 jobs and generated almost $150B in 2022. As such, agriculture is uniquely positioned to address Canada’s productivity gap, and investments in the sector could unlock $30B in economic opportunity. Additionally, while the sector produces approximately 10% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, food and farming systems hold enormous potential to mitigate emissions. Canadian farmlands already sequester millions of tons of carbon; properly managed they can sequester millions of tons more. To achieve these outcomes, entrepreneurs and innovators need a pan-Canadian platform that fosters collaboration with industry, government, and communities to drive solutions from university lab to corporate launch. To address this need, SF4C will create three programs: (1) SF4Ctrain: A co-op and micro credential training platform that will provide workplace experience and interdisciplinary training in foundational agri-food skills, virtual interactive seminars, and in-person experiential learning opportunities; (2) SF4Cmentor: A mentorship and concierge service that will connect innovators to mentors and existing program resources; (3) SF4Ccollide: A network of networks, connecting sustainability innovators through events, workshops, and other initiatives. SF4C is a national network that includes the majority of Canada’s research and innovation capacity in agri-food, including: all of Canada’s agricultural and veterinary faculties; key community colleges and undergraduate-focused universities with practical expertise in hands-on food system training; leading Indigenous organizations; and Canada’s agri-food focused innovation accelerators and incubators. The breadth and depth of this group is groundbreaking in Canada and represents one of the largest single innovation training networks focused on sustainable food systems in the world, rivaling Wageningen University and Research and the University of California network.