Nova Scotia Seafood and Agriculture Strategic Investment Fund (SASI)

Insider Tip

Perennia administers this fund and provides free advisory services to applicants. Engage with a Perennia advisor early in your application process — they can help shape your project to align with fund priorities and strengthen your submission significantly.

Success Profile

Established seafood processors or agricultural operations making significant capital investments — new processing lines, cold storage facilities, automation equipment, or value-added product development infrastructure. Indigenous entities with aquaculture or harvesting operations are also strong candidates.

Evaluation Criteria

Projects evaluated by Perennia's Project Review Committee on: transformative and strategic impact on the agriculture, agri-food, seafood processing, or aquaculture sector in Nova Scotia; innovation (new-to-NS technologies, equipment, or processes); demonstrated impact on productivity, quality, or cost of production; potential to develop new market opportunities; economic benefit to Nova Scotia; financial viability and capacity of the applicant to deliver the project. Larger-scale projects ($750K–$1.5M total cost) are prioritized though smaller transformative projects ($500K–$750K) are also considered.

Application Steps

Required Documents 6

Eligible Expenses 8

• Purchase of equipment (new to Nova Scotia technology or processes)
• Professional equipment installation and shipping costs
• Consultant fees directly related to the project
• Acquisition of new software
• Construction costs (assessed case by case)
• Adoption of new production processes with demonstrated productivity or quality impact
• Infrastructure supporting new market opportunities
• Equipment or processes that lower cost of production

Ineligible Expenses 7

• Regular maintenance or incremental costs associated with increasing current product lines
• Routine equipment replacement without new-to-NS technology or process element
• Cannabis-related projects
• Working capital and operating expenses
• Land purchase
• Costs incurred before application approval
• Projects unlikely to complete by January 2027

Intake Periods

First intake open August 16 – September 30, 2025 (closed). No second intake has been announced as of June 2026. Program expires March 31, 2027 — a future intake is possible if funds remain, but none is confirmed. Contact [email protected] for updates.

Deadline Notes

First intake open August 16 – September 30, 2025 (EOI deadline). Applications are NOT ongoing — intake-based. Program expires March 31, 2027. No second intake has been announced as of June 2026. Contact [email protected] to monitor for future intake windows.

Open Application Portal →

Ineligible Organizations

• Businesses not registered in Nova Scotia
• Businesses not primarily operating in agriculture, agri-food, seafood processing, or aquaculture
• Organizations not in good standing with required Nova Scotia registries and regulatory authorities
• Fisheries and aquaculture operations without required permits, leases, or licenses in NS
• Cannabis-related businesses
• Businesses unable to demonstrate 25% matching contribution
• Projects that cannot be completed by January 2027

Compatible Programs

Clawback Risk

Medium Risk

Medium. Projects that fail to complete by the January 2027 deadline forfeit remaining funding. Ineligible costs included in claims must be repaid. Failure to deliver the required knowledge transfer component may affect final payment. Standard contribution agreement recovery mechanisms apply.