Building a Resilient Tender Fruit Industry in Ontario

The tender fruit industry in Niagara is a cornerstone of the Greenbelt’s vibrant agricultural economy. It is, however, facing many challenges, as well as opportunities. The Ontario Tender Fruit Lab, a project of MaRS Solutions Lab and the Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience, engaged the tender fruit industry, including the Greenbelt Foundation, to examine ways to ensure a resilient tender fruit economy. This report outlines the shared strategy and interventions that resulted from three workshops held in the Niagara region to discuss the future of Ontario’s tender fruit industry.

The tender fruit industry in Niagara is a cornerstone of the Greenbelt’s vibrant agricultural economy. It is, however, facing many challenges, as well as opportunities.

The identified interventions are:

– Improve the quality consistency of Ontario tender fruit from the perspective of retailers.
– Increase tender fruit production efficiency on-farm to increase net profitability at the farm gate and boost environmental performance.
– Create a supportive ecosystem to enable entrepreneurs to develop new products and engage with growers to create fruit processing businesses.
– Adopt standardized packaging to increase efficiency for the value chain while reducing costs and wastes.
– Create a cross-sectoral collaboration to speed up availability of new tender fruit varieties.

The tender fruit sector along with other stakeholders and supporters continue to contribute to building a stronger tender fruit industry.

Report - Building a Resilient Tender Fruit Industry in Ontario

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Year Published: 2015

Report Status: Current

Published by: MaRS Solutions Lab, Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience (WISIR)

Authors: Claire Buré, Hyun-Duck Chung, Joeri van den Steenhoven, Sam Laban

Focus Areas: Agriculture and Agri-Food, Communities & Regional Growth, Greenbelt Education & Awareness, Natural Heritage and Biodiversity,