Province’s Agritech Ramp-Up Pilot Program is intended to help food developers turn ideas into reality
British Columbia is building its ag-tech industry with the Agritech Ramp-Up Pilot Program.
Two Vancouver based companies, Lyne Systems and QuantoTech, were part of the first cohort. They received mentoring, coaching, network opportunities and $25,000 as winners of business development grants offered through the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. (IAF).
“Ramp-Up was super helpful in the guidance they provided,” said Kyle Gardiner, Lyne Systems Product Management lead. “They had some really strong mentors that came in and had weekly meetings with industry peers.”
“Being with people in ag-tech that were handling the same sort of problems and getting a chance to talk about what they’re going through, how they’re handling their issues and discuss that with the mentors provided was a huge help for us.”
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The program’s goal is to help food developers build ideas into reality.
“We were able to really sit down and focus on ag-tech; how best to get ag-tech out into the world, how best to promote it and how to really hone in on our customer list,” said Alycia Van Der Gacht, QuantoTech co-founder.
“Basically, everything we needed to ensure we had a good business plan moving forward.”
QuantoTech developed an LED micro-farm system for growing leafy greens and herbs in smaller markets.
Lyne Systems product Pik-Assist is expected to enable mushroom growers to increase efficiency and lessen workload for employees in a market that struggles to find workers.
The Pik-Assist attaches to the “lorry,” which is a scissor-lift like machine that raises mushroom-pickers to the stacked grow beds in the facility.
Rather than the grower picking the mushrooms, cutting the stems and placing them in a basket, they place the picked mushrooms in the Pik-Assist.
The machine cuts the stems, transports the mushrooms and places them into accurately weighed boxes, taking care of most of the process.
The company says this is cheaper and more efficient than robotic pickers and conveyor models and is easier to install.
“Pik-Assist is starting to gain a lot of traction with those who have heard of it because it’s a very easily adaptable solution that is cost effective. It doesn’t change the way the farms are run whatsoever,” said Gardiner.
Van Der Gacht and her father Peter co-founded QuantoTech more than 10 years ago as an LED lighting company, but have since shifted to food production and technology.
“The Ramp-Up Program was really helpful for us,” said Van Der Gacht. “Since we’re also farmers, we’ve been really focusing a lot on that aspect of the business and we hadn’t put much time towards these micro-farms and the business plan associated with it.”
QuantoTech’s micro-farm system allows communities of about 1,000 people or less to grow vertically year-round. The communities are typically able to secure grants that cover most of the costs.
In the last five years, QuantoTech has farmed and sold its own produce on a larger scale in big cities, using the same techniques and technology.
“We are basically passing along the knowledge from our own farming operations in large cities to these smaller communities. We want them to have access year-round to fresh produce and increase food security,” said Van Der Gacht.
The lights typically grow greens and herbs but are strong enough to grow flowering plants as well, so the company has added strawberries to its product line.
“We wanted to develop something that was extremely easy to use; that you didn’t need any knowledge in farming or horticulture or anything like that, and still have the same quality produce that you find at a grocery store in Vancouver.”
