New website showcases agricultural innovation

A new website launched by the Agri-Technology Commercialization Centre (ATCC) highlights innovation in Ontario’s agri-food sector.

The initiative, AgInnovation Ontario, is designed to raise awareness of the wide range of innovative projects and opportunities in the province’s agriculture and agri-food industry. The site, available in English and French, is accessible at www.aginnovationontario.ca.

“Agriculture has long been at the forefront of innovation, supporting many advances in areas like food, health, bioeconomy, life sciences and others. This site is about telling the story of that innovation and raising awareness to help support and advance the sector,” says Jeff Schmalz, president of Soy 20/20, one of the ATCC’s founding member groups.

The site will feature original articles and images, as well as videos, stories, images, and audio files produced by other farm organizations and industry stakeholders. These articles will be distributed to media, as well as shared widely through social media.

The ATCC has developed the site in collaboration with Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, University of Guelph, Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO), and Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC).

Innovation stories will be sought from Ontario’s commodity and agricultural organizations, as well as universities, and government and industry partners. Story ideas and suggestions for innovations or initiatives to be profiled can be emailed to info@aginnovationontario.ca.

Project resources will also support a search for new opportunities or initiatives where organizations like the ATCC may be able to assist entrepreneurs with development or commercialization support.

The ATCC is unique in Canada, housing everything an agricultural technology company needs to move projects forward under a single roof, including organizations dedicated to new company formation, market development, expansion of existing businesses, and attraction and retention of larger firms. ATCC member groups are Soy 20/20, Ontario Agri-Food Technologies and Bioenterprise.

Ontario’s agri-food sector contributes $33.8 billion in GDP to the provincial economy, supports more than 740,000 jobs, and drives $10.8 billion in exports annually.

AgInnovation Ontario is a project of the ATCC is funded by Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

Visit www.aginnovationontario.ca or follow @aginnovationont on Twitter.