An Analysis of Financing Innovation and Commercialization in Canada's Functional Food and Nutraceutical Sector

Growing consumer interest in functional foods and nutraceuticals has been seen as a significant business opportunity for the agri-food sector. Many of the new firms in this sector are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). These SMEs often face difficulties in obtaining financing for their functional food and nutraceutical innovation activities. We develop and implement two models to show what factors affect a firm's decision to seek external financing and the level of financing obtained. Firm size, being privately held and engaging in contractual arrangements, have negative impacts on the likelihood of a firm seeking external funding, while firms which are intensively involved in the functional food and nutraceutical sector, with greater prospects for business expansion and/or are involved in partnerships are more likely to seek external financing. Larger firms and those involved in functional food and nutraceutical research and development receive a greater amount of capital when they decided to raise capital. However, firms focused on functional foods and nutraceuticals, as opposed to more diversified firms, and those involved in product development and concept scale-up receive less capital. Our findings highlight the importance of public support in addressing the capital requirements of functional food and nutraceutical firms and underscore the considerable burden in this respect borne by smaller sized firms.Agribusiness,

Social-ecological, motivational and volitional factors for initiating and maintaining physical activity in the context of HIV

Sport and exercise can have several health benefits for people living with HIV. These benefits can be achieved through different types of physical activity, adapting to disease progression, motivation and social-ecological options. However, physical activity levels and adherence to exercise are generally low in people living with HIV. At the same time, high drop-out rates in intervention studies are prevalent; even though they often entail more favourable conditions than interventions in the natural settings. Thus, in the framework of an intervention study, the present study aims to explore social-ecological, motivational and volitional correlates of South African women living with HIV with regard to physical activity and participation in a sport and exercise health promotion programme. The qualitative data was produced in the framework of a non-randomised pre-post intervention study that evaluated structure, processes and outcomes of a 10-week sport and exercise programme. All 25 participants of the programme were included in this analysis, independent of compliance. Data was produced through questionnaires, participatory group discussions, body image pictures, research diaries and individual semi-structured interviews. All participants lived in a low socioeconomic, disadvantaged setting. Hence, the psychological correlates are contextualised and social-ecological influences on perception and behaviour are discussed. The results show the importance of considering social-cultural and environmental influences on individual motives, perceptions and expectancies, the fear of disclosure and stigmatisation, sport and exercise-specific group dynamics and self-supporting processes. Opportunities and strategies to augment physical activity and participation in sport and exercise programmes in the context of HIV are discussed.Scopu

Traceability in the Canadian Dairy Processing Sector

The agri-food chain today is significantly different from that of twenty years ago. Changing consumer demands, knowledge intensive technology, North American integration and globalization have all contributed to the evolution of the different segments of the chain, which include input suppliers, agricultural producers, food processors, and food distributors. The purpose of the performance report series is to create a picture of the economic health of the entire agri-food chain and its various segments, and to identify the challenges and opportunities that they will face in the future. To get a full picture of each component's and the whole chain's economic health, these reports will measure economic performance from several different perspectives; profitability, competitiveness, investment, productivity, innovativeness, etc. Traceability is the process of tracking or tracing the flow of products through a supply chain. Traceability systems can vary from simple traceback systems to systems that provide identity preservation and quality assurance. This report examines the extent of traceability in the Canadian dairy processing industry. The authors use a mail survey and Principal Component Analysis to better understand the drivers, the challenges and the costs and benefits experienced by firms which have implemented traceability systems. The report finds that most dairy processing plants had implemented a system of product traceability and are able to trace forward and backwards

An Analysis of Financing Innovation and Commercialization in Canada's Functional Food and Nutraceutical Sector

Growing consumer interest in functional foods and nutraceuticals has been seen as a significant business opportunity for the agri-food sector. Many of the new firms in this sector are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). These SMEs often face difficulties in obtaining financing for their functional food and nutraceutical innovation activities. We develop and implement two models to show what factors affect a firm's decision to seek external financing and the level of financing obtained. Firm size, being privately held and engaging in contractual arrangements, have negative impacts on the likelihood of a firm seeking external funding, while firms which are intensively involved in the functional food and nutraceutical sector, with greater prospects for business expansion and/or are involved in partnerships are more likely to seek external financing. Larger firms and those involved in functional food and nutraceutical research and development receive a greater amount of capital when they decided to raise capital. However, firms focused on functional foods and nutraceuticals, as opposed to more diversified firms, and those involved in product development and concept scale-up receive less capital. Our findings highlight the importance of public support in addressing the capital requirements of functional food and nutraceutical firms and underscore the considerable burden in this respect borne by smaller sized firms

Costs and Benefits of Traceability in the Canadian Dairy-Processing Industry

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,