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Erie Innovation Closed

Sunday, 3 November 2013 07:21

An organization which helped secure more than $4 million in agriculture funding in the region has closed it's doors due to lack of funding

Local agriculture took another hit as Erie Innovation and Commercialization was forced to close due to a lack of funding.

The organization was formed in 2009 in partnership with Oxford, Brant, Norfolk, Elgin and Middlesex Counties to diversify agriculture and food opportunities in the region. 

Vice President John Kelly
 
"Our key challenge was the ability to secure key funding for what we needed to do. We had certainly lots of support from local organizations and governments but the ability to secure enough key funding to run the organization was the key challenge."

"The support that we got was really good, I think the region needs an organization like ours because it's a place that really (builds) ideas and new activities. The hazelnut opportunity for the province for example, that's going to be a $60-80 million dollar annual contribution to the provincial economy at maturity."
 
Kelly outlines just some of what they were able to accomplish in just four year. 
 
"We helped form the Ontario Lavender Association, the Ontario Southcoast Wineries and Growers Association, the Ontario Hazelnut Association, the Ontario Hops Growers Association and really the point to that was to get people to work together, understand who their competition was and to build and grow new sectors."
 
Kelly says they would have needed more than $1.4 million to run the organization for another five years. 

They officially closed their doors October 31. 

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