9 Agricultural Players that are Shaping the Future of Food in Northern Ontario

Canadian Innovation Week in Northern Ontario 

Canada is bursting with great agricultural ideas. Some of them are local, affecting small remote communities. Some are reshaping our entire food ecosystem.

In 2020, Bioenterprise launched Canada’s Food & Agri-Tech Engine to create a national and united innovation ecosystem for the sector. The goal: unlocking Canada’s homegrown innovation potential by supporting the commercialization of promising tech solutions for both primary agriculture and throughout the food supply chain, boosting our international standing as a leader in agricultural innovation. 

When innovation strikes in agriculture, it lets us do more with less. In the north this can mean less space, shorter growing seasons, less access to resources, or less centralized infrastructure. So at the macro level a focus on new technologies and processes in precision agriculture, vertical farming and livestock management are changing how we grow, transport, and connect our food system.  

When the Rideau Hall Foundation launched Canadian Innovation Week in 2018, agriculture may not have been the first industry the public would associate with new and exciting opportunities and technologies. Yet as Canadian Innovation Week aims to shine a spotlight on the people and organizations developing technology to improve the lives of Canadians, there is no doubt that sustainability and food security will be key areas of development for Canada’s future as a world leader.

As the demand for sustainable and locally sourced food continues to rise, Northern Ontario is emerging as a hub for exactly those innovations in Canada. So to celebrate Canadian Innovation Week, here are 9 partners that we work with throughout Northern Ontario. Let’s explore how each of them works with Bioenterprise to help shape the future of agriculture.