Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council

VCMI wrapped up a successful and busy workshop season on March 18 with Module 6 – Are You Market Ready. More than 25 participants from across the province took part via video conference and went over a checklist of areas to cover to ensure their value chain is ready to enter the market. Previous to that we hosted workshops in January and February with attendance averaging over 45 people. Kudos to the VCMI team for working together to ensure the success of three workshops in three months.

We have had an overwhelming response to opening up the workshops to video conferencing, with many participants noting the convenience and ability to take in a workshop where otherwise they would not have the opportunity, so we will ensure this technology is part of future workshops.

Module 6 was the last in a series of workshops on value chain development that is a collective outcome project led by the Canadian Value Chain Network, which VCMI is part of. The lead council in Saskatchewan is applying for a year-long extension, so there may be an opportunity to host select workshops next fall, depending on availability and demand.

VCMI participated in the Agriculture in the City event March 19 to 21 at the Forks. We enjoyed interacting with the public and promoting the value chain model while sampling organic milk from our Organic Dairy value chain project. The event was very busy with a steady stream of traffic through the displays and excellent questions from the public.

We are very excited to announce our newest value chain project. The Local Sustainable Produce value chain project is led by Marnie Feeleus of Fresh Option Organic Delivery, a local distributor of fresh produce. The group consists of four local vegetable producers, as well as Fresh Option Organic Delivery, Vita Health Fresh Markets, and Diversity Foods of University of Winnipeg.

The objective of the project is to measure how much efficiency can be gained by sharing the sales data for product and volumes from the retailer with the distributor and growers to effectively match supply with demand to decrease the reliance on imported organic produce and other niche crops. The distributor will serve as an aggregator for the producers, organizing weekly order guides and communicating the crop status with the purchasers in an orderly fashion, saving the retailers time and money. The project will investigate the value of on-farm pick-up, allowing growers to concentrate on their operation and less on distribution.

A current challenge this value chain hopes to overcome is that independent local retailers, institutions and food service providers can be adverse to the extra work of managing several small accounts with multiple small growers trying to sell direct. This also makes it difficult to source consistent supply and quality of product for the end consumer. This hesitation encourages ordering organic produce from large out-of-province distributors.

This group has already begun collaborating and working on a grow plan to match crops with demand from the end purchasers. They have participated in open round table discussions on pricing strategies that had not previously been part of the supply chain process. They also have a Partner Commitment that clearly outlines each partner’s responsibility. Partners are working together to develop a Marketing Plan to increase awareness of the value chain and its products to the consumer.

All producer partners either have organic certification or will attain Local Food Plus certification, which provides further accountability and visibility to the purchasers and end consumer on growing practices.

We look forward to working with this project as they work together to reduce duplication in marketing and distribution, increase product quality and consistency, match supply and demand more effectively, and collaborate to meet a rising demand for local product beyond the capacity of farmers’ markets.

~ Eugene Warwaruk, MRAC Value Chain Coordinator

Photo: Eugene Warwaruk, MRAC Value Chain Coordinator, and Pauline Nadlersmith with Organic Meadow Co-operative discuss the organic dairy value chain project with an Ag in the City visitor. Photo by Teresa Falk.