SCAP - Advancing Agri-Food Processing Program (New Brunswick)
Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Provides financial assistance for the purchase of specialized and/or automated equipment to increase efficiency, quality, and productivity for New Brunswick's agri-food processors.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must be a resident or business operating in New Brunswick
- Eligible applicants include Indigenous organizations, agriculture producers, abattoirs, and agri-food processing facilities
- Project must involve purchase of specialized or automated equipment
- Equipment must increase efficiency, quality, or productivity for agri-food processing
- Pure processors: max $50,000 at 25% cost coverage. Producer-processors: max $100,000 at 50% coverage
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Pure processors: up to 25%, max $50,000. Producer-processors: up to 50%, max $100,000.
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Provincial
- Co-Funding
- Up to 50% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Ongoing
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
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How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipBook a pre-consultation with a DAAF Business Growth Officer before touching the application form. This step is explicitly recommended and is not optional in practice — officers shape applications to fit program criteria and can flag disqualifying issues before you waste time. Do NOT start purchasing equipment before receiving your letter of offer: retroactive expenses are ineligible under SCAP. If your project is close to $200,000 in total cost, stacking with ACOA BDP can allow you to cover 75%+ of costs between the two programs — ask your officer about stacking during pre-consultation.
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Rejection Pitfalls 9
- Applicant is a restaurant, café, grocery retailer, or in-home processor — categorically ineligible
- Seafood/fish processing facility — separate program stream applies
- Retail floor space exceeds processing area — program requires processing to be the primary activity
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Success Profile
Established NB agri-food processor (2+ years operating) seeking to automate or upgrade a specific processing step. Typical winners: abattoirs adding value-added cut/pack lines, cider/craft beverage producers adding bottling automation, cheese or charcuterie producers adding packaging equipment, agriculture producers building on-farm processing facilities, and Indigenous agri-food enterprises formalizing production. Projects in the $50K–$200K total cost range are the sweet spot. Applicants who have already had a pre-consultation and obtained any required food premises permits before applying move fastest.
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Evaluation Criteria
Rolling merit-based review. Key criteria: eligible NB processor type; equipment directly improves efficiency, quality, or productivity of processing operations; applicant demonstrates capacity to proceed with the project; project not already started; pre-consultation completed. Not a competitive scoring pool — well-prepared compliant applications have high approval probability.
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Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 8
Eligible Expenses 7
- Specialized food processing equipment (slicers, fillers, packaging lines, bottling systems)
- Automated processing machinery improving throughput or consistency
- Refrigeration and cold storage equipment for processing facilities
- Quality control and testing equipment for food safety compliance
- On-farm processing facility equipment for producer-processors
- Value-added equipment for meat, produce, dairy, grain, or beverage processing
- Equipment installation costs directly tied to eligible equipment
Ineligible Expenses 7
- Primary agricultural machinery (tractors, harvesters, seeders — pre-processing)
- Restaurant or food service equipment
- Retail display fixtures and grocery store equipment
- General construction or renovation costs not directly tied to equipment installation
- Costs incurred before receiving the letter of offer
- Equipment for seafood/fish processing (covered under separate SCAP stream)
- Software and IT systems (unless directly tied to eligible processing equipment control)
Intake Periods
Rolling intake year-round. No fixed deadline windows. Contact [email protected] to confirm current funding availability before applying.
Deadline Notes
Rolling intake, no fixed deadline windows. Applications accepted year-round and evaluated on merit until annual allocation is spent. Contact [email protected] to confirm current funding availability before investing significant time in the application.
Open Application Portal →Ineligible Organizations
- Restaurants, cafés, and food service operations
- Grocery retailers and food distributors
- In-home processors (processing must occur in a licensed food premises)
- Seafood and fish processing facilities (covered by separate SCAP stream)
- Organizations not resident in or operating in New Brunswick
- Businesses where retail floor space exceeds processing area
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Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Medium RiskSee which programs combine with this one — and how much more you could get. Unlock with Premium →
How SCAP - Advancing Agri-Food ... Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCAP - Advancing Agri-Food Processing... | Pure processors: up to 25%, max... | Easy | Reimbursement | Ongoing |
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