Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council

After launching four successful value chains across Manitoba, the Value Chain Manitoba Initiative (VCMI) officially wrapped up on March 31, 2011. The collaboration was initiated by the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council (MRAC), with funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), in partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI).

VCMI encouraged and assisted Manitoba’s agri-food industry in becoming more competitive through value chain development. A value chain is a partnership between producers, processors and marketers created to improve quality, increase efficiencies or develop and market differentiated products to make all partners more profitable. Value chains allow members to be more competitive by seeking market opportunities and linking production and processing requirements to meet consumer demand. The goal of a value chain is increased profits for all value chain partners, as they capitalize on market opportunities and deliver a quality product that consumers demand.  

In 2007 VCMI began its first series of workshops in the province. Working with the Canadian Value Chain Network, six different workshops were developed. In 2009 the first agricultural value chain, the Organic Dairy Value Chain, was formed. And a year later, three additional value chains were created.

A growing demand for local vegetables spurred the formation of the Produce Value Chain, which consists of four local vegetable producers, as well as Fresh Option Organic Delivery, Vita Health Fresh Markets, and Diversity Foods of the University of Winnipeg. 

Producer Dan DeRuyck of Top of the Hill Farm at Treherne, processor Paul Bobbee of Midlake Specialty Food Products in Arborg, and three retail bakeries - Tall Grass Prairie, Integrity Foods and Natalie’s Life Sense Natural Foods - joined forces to create the Organic Sunflower Value Chain, which aims to develop a sustainable method of providing Manitoba organic sunflower seeds to local organic bakeries to use as an ingredient in their baked products for Manitoba consumers.

And finally, the Manitoba Lamb Value Chain was formed to address the demand for fresh local lamb. The objective of this value chain is to coordinate producers, processors and retailers to collaboratively work together to develop a value chain to provide lamb to Manitoba consumers on a consistent basis.

All four projects have now wrapped up under VCMI, however, some of the value chain participants continue to work together. A formal evaluation of the VCMI program was recently conducted and recommendations were identified. The MRAC board of directors is currently determining its next steps in this area.

~ By Teresa Falk, MRAC Communications Officer