Erie Innovation spokesman confidant the organization will find the funds to continue operations

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

An organization involved in diversifying agriculture and agri-food opportunities in southcentral Ontario has been working to find funding so it can continue operating.

Funding for Erie Innovation and Commercialization, part of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, was to run out by March. But “we have had discussions and support given to us through the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association” and various levels of municipal government along with other organizations, says John Kelly, vice president of Erie Innovation.

The support has been committed for five years, he notes.   

Kelly says they are also applying to the Growing Forward 2 program for funding. That program is the national agriculture policy framework that came into effect April 1 after the previous five-year program, Growing Forward, expired March 31.

“What we do is recognized by both the federal and provincial governments,” he says.

Erie Innovation’s primary amount of funding will come from Growing Forward 2 “but that’s not to discount the contributions being given by other organizations,” he says. Kelly says they don’t know yet how much they will apply for from Growing Forward 2.

Erie Innovation will know officially in three or four months if it will continue operating, he explains. BF