Indigenous Farm Conference
& Tradeshow 2007

The Aboriginal Agricultural Education hosted a 2-day Indigenous Farm Conference & Tradeshow on May 2-3, 2007 in Victoria.

This conference reached a diverse target audience from Band & Council to Organizations involved in joint ventures, existing producers in organics, small scale food processors and much more.

The conference & tradeshow was a great success this year attracting delegates from across Canada. The focus of this conference was to educate the delegate on how to enter into agriculture through niche marketing agri-food and specialty products.

The delegates had a number of workshops to choose from: export development, natural food production, organics, bison production, agri-food processing and agri-tourism. For more details click on the conference agenda to see a detailed list of speakers.

A tradeshow was held in conjunction with the conference, and housed innovative agricultural businesses, First Nations artisans, service providers, government, non-profit organizations, and service organizations.

The Aboriginal Agricultural Education Society piloted its first youth project from July – November 2007 “Branding for the Future," offering participants five months of classroom and work experience in the agriculture industry. The goals of the program were to introduce youth into agriculture and agri-related career options. The program was a great success and the second phase of the program will be starting in the near future and will include hands greenhouse training.

Rona Foundation donates $5,000 to build greenhouse December 2007

Marlen Manufacturing a Division of Northern Trailer donates a Seacan for storage

The Aboriginal Agricultural Education Society of British Columbia is a registered charity, recently formed to provide agricultural support services to existing Aboriginal Producers, with a focus on increasing youth involvement in agriculture.