From Bioenterprise News www.bioenterprise.ca
Canada’s Agri-Tech mission has just returned from Japan, where some of our country’s most innovative firms met with Japanese officials and potential private partners to foster future collaboration.
Canadian exports to Japan in 2014 totalled $10.7 billion, consisting principally of oilseeds, mineral ores, mineral fuels and oils, wood and wood products, meat, cereals and pharmaceutical products.
Japan has signalled a renewed openness in trade policy and Canada and Japan are engaged in negotiations through several free-trade agreements.
The Canadian firms took part in the Nikkei Agri-Tech Summit, an international business event that brings together Japanese and foreign business, academia, government, startups and established firms. The event focusses on how disruptive technology is fusing with agriculture to shape our future. The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade also attended and gave a presentation at the Summit.
"The 4-day trade mission was a tremendous success, our goal was to develop and deepen relationships with several major Japanese partners. We had substantive discussions with ten different companies, most of which were facilitated by the Canadian Trade Commission. We're very excited about the potential to begin exporting into Japanese markets, and we appreciate all of Bioenterprise has done to set up the trade mission.” Says Darren Anderson, Chief Communications Officer & VP Regulatory, at Vive Crop Protection.
The group also met with representatives from the Northern Advancement Center for Science & Technology (NOASTEC), a government funded R&D organization committed to adding value for agri-food materials produced in Hokkaido. And they took part in several seminars and networking sessions arranged by the Canadian Trade Commission.
The trip was organized, in part, by Bioenterprise Corporation, a national, non-profit business accelerator offering commercialization services to support the creation, growth, and expansion of businesses in the agricultural technology sector. Through its six locations across Canada, the organization provides agri-businesses with scientific and technical expertise, industry knowledge, business services, and global connections. Bioenterprise Corporation is funded through Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative, and the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program (CAIP) delivered by the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC’s IRAP).
"We are pleased to have been involved in this very successful trade mission to Japan, and the opportunity to promote the innovative agri-tech companies from Canada. This trade mission was focused on investment and business development, and we look forward to seeing the relationships we’ve built here continue to grow,” says Dave Smardon, President & CEO of Bioenterprise Corporation.
The Canadian firms represented during the mission, included:
Vive Crop Protection (Toronto, ON)
Vive creates new ways to use trusted products using the Allosperse® Delivery System. Allosperse improves the targeting and performance of pesticide active ingredients. This helps farmers do more with less, reducing the burden agricultural practices have on the environment, all while increasing crop quality and yields. Vive works with global partners that want to bring better crop protection products to growers around the world.
BW Global (Abbotsford)
BW Global’s 100% enclosed environments dramatically lower water consumption in greenhouses. In areas where water availability is a significant issue, such as the Middle East and other drought-stricken areas like California, we can recapture both transpired and evaporated water within the greenhouse. This is revolutionary in dramatically changing the operational requirements for commercial greenhouses. This technology not only replicates a true water cycle, it is unprecendented in controlled-environment agriculture.
Techmist (Abbotsford)
TechMist™ produces SPARC™, FLUX™ and STREAM™, the most effective disinfection system in the world, pine beetle defence, West Nile and H5N5 virus control, and directed pathogen protection technologies. TechMist™ leads the disinfection industry with live monitoring and unique application technologies. TechMist™ has revolutionized the greenhouse industry with its patented disinfection system, and is contributing to the future of industry protocols and standards. Together with industry partners, we work to enable sustainable tools for the world.
Abcelex Technologies (Mississauga, ON)
AbCelex Technologies Inc., is a Canadian biotechnology company committed to the discovery and development of innovative solutions to advance the health of food animals and improve human food safety. Employing advanced genetics and bioengineering techniques, AbCelex’s antibody based approach delivers antimicrobial solutions against various pathogens in several food animal species implicated in food-borne illnesses.
PlantForm (Toronto, ON)
PlantForm is a Canadian biotech company with a low-cost proprietary manufacturing process for a wide range of plant-made pharmaceuticals, including monoclonal antibodies, therapeutic proteins and vaccines for the treatment of cancer, HIV/AIDS, Ebola and other life-threatening conditions. The company’svivoXPRESS® technology uses genetically engineered tobacco plants to produce biopharmaceuticals in less than six weeks at a significantly lower cost of goods compared to industry standard fermentation systems.
Terramerra (Vancouver, BC)
Terramera develops high-performance biopesticides for agriculture, bee health and public health by harnessing the power of natural plant defenses and innovative chemistry. It was recently named the Best Innovation Winner at the Small Business BC Awards.