The George Morris Centre’s planned Value Chain Management Centre will get some value added through a $1 million federal contribution.
The funding was announced Friday in Guelph, where the agriculture think-tank is based.
The VCMC, to be located at the centre, is expected to raise awareness and demonstrate the financial and competitive benefits from value chains, a concept in which farmers, processors and retailers work together to expand their market opportunities and improve profits.
“Value chains are often considered purely a concept with little relevance to actual business. To me, this illustrates a general lack of understanding about value chains as a management issue,” said VCMC director Martin Gooch in a federal government release.
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“The centre’s work will focus on helping to create the capacity necessary for farmers and agri-food managers to better manage the chains in which they operate.”
The VCMC is expected to work with Canadian and international value chain
initiatives to share lessons learned and identify success factors relating to value chains
operating in Canada and internationally.
The centre is also expected to examine reasons behind the failure of value
chain initiatives, and will assess ag policy as it relates to support
for the creation and operation of value chains that can benefit all members — including primary producers, the federal government said in its release.
The centre, as conceived, will also work with the College of Management Economics at the University of Guelph and partners in the agriculture, marketing, processing, retail and foodservice industries. An advisory board of stakeholder representatives will direct the VCMC’s strategies and activities.
