Am I Eligible?

Eligible participants include:

Eligible companies must be either federally or provincially registered businesses with an active GST number and must be based and operating out of British Columbia. They must operate agri-businesses that handle food for human consumption and can be located on a farm premise.
  • Includes:
    • farmers/growers producing crops for human consumption;
    • producers/ranchers raising animals for human consumption; or
    • packers or co-packers that handle food for human consumption
  • Eligible organizations are On-Farm facilities prior to basic washing, grading and packaging

Seafood producers and other food businesses are illegible to this program. Refer to “Who Cannot Apply (Ineligible Participants)” section below.

apply now

We encourage all eligible businesses, no matter where you are on the food safety spectrum, to apply for program funding!

All eligible companies are required to:

  • Have an active 9-digit business registration number (BN) with CRA or have an active GST and file business or farm income taxes in British Columbia (BC);
  • Must be based and operating in the province of BC;
  • Provide a copy of your BC Assessment showing farm status;
  • Constitute a legal entity (an association, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, trust, or individual that has legal standing in the eyes of the law);
  • Be in compliance with all requirements of the law and agree to remain in compliance for the term of the Canada Agricultural Partnership (CAP) funding agreement;
  • Be registered with the BC Premises Identification* Program if you raise livestock and/or poultry; [please visit www.gov.bc.ca/premisesidprogram];

Required Documentation

In addition, eligible applicants will be asked to provide supporting documents, including:

  • A letter of commitment from their Senior Management team in order confirm their commitment to the improvement of their food safety system;
  • A provincial or federal operating license;
  • A letter from financial institution; and
  • Other requirements for eligibility may be set if necessary.

Eligible NAICS Codes:

Your organization must be classified under one of the following eligible North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, in order to qualify for the Post-Farm Food Safety Program. Please explore these codes in further detail on the Statistics Canada website.

Crop production
  • 1111 Oilseed and grain farming
  • 1112 Vegetable and melon farming
  • 1113 Fruit and tree nut farming
  • 1114 Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production
    • 111412 Cannabis grown under cover
  • 1119 Other crop farming
    • 111995 Cannabis grown in open fields
Animal production
  • 1121 Cattle ranching and farming
  • 1122 Hog and pig farming
  • 1123 Poultry and egg production
  • 1124 Sheep and goat farming
  • 1129 Other animal production
Forestry and logging
  • 1132 Forest nurseries and gathering of forest products

Who Cannot Apply (Ineligible Participants)

The following types of organizations have been deemed as not eligible for the On-Farm Food Safety Program:

  • Operations that grow, process or handle health or nutrition supplements;
  • Health and/or nutrition supplement processing/handling operations;
  • Operations producing pet food or food not intended for human consumption;
  • Business only involved in primary production;
  • Retail operations;
  • Restaurants or other foodservice operations;
  • Aquaculture and seafood production businesses
  • Unlicensed, unregistered, and/or uninspected facilities; and
  • Any other business deemed ineligible by the ministry.

When there is any uncertainty, the Registrar will contact the province to make the official decision regarding eligibility.

For food processors, you might be eligible to apply to Post-Farm Food Safety Program.
For more information, visit our website www.bcpostfarmfoodsafety.com