Research Insights

Georgia has a rich agricultural history in fresh produce, owing to its long growing season. Creation of value-added markets would provide a valuable source of income to growers during times where fresh produce is not actively being grown and harvested. In rural areas where farms are primarily located, many entrepreneurs lack accessibility to appropriate business development resources and thus opportunities to break into value-added markets are limited. The proposed Value-addition Institute for Business Expansion (VIBE), an Agriculture Innovation Center (AIC), located at the University of Georgia (UGA) – Department of Food Science and Technology (FST) aims to support food businesses based in rural communities of GA to commercialize new value-added foods. The proposed AIC will provide technical assistance on food product development, scaled-up processing and access to mini-grants to producers throughout Georgia to enable them to take the steps necessary to commercialize their products. The AIC aims to do this by accomplishing the following objectives: (1) Perform a needs assessment in rural, distressed communities in Georgia, (2) Establish a Georgia-specific network of providers for business development services, (3) Build capacity for farmers seeking to enter value-added markets, (4) Develop multiplatform training materials and workshops related to process and product development, and (5) Administer mini-grants to producers to facilitate access to services and support required to start a new business or scale up an existing business. Georgia currently has a significant number of resources devoted to building and running a business, as evidenced by letters from our key partners, but there is a gap in programs specifically related to process and product development of foods that will bridge initial business development steps with production runs and marketing. Center personnel will evaluate the product prototype and work with clients to identify equipment capable of replicating the process and operating at the desired scale, with consideration to product characteristics (quality and safety) and cost analysis. Mini-grants will be distributed through a competitive application process. In addition to those companies who receive mini grants, we plan to provide consultation services to ~20 companies per year, evenly split between PD Casulli and co-PD Mis Solval. Preference will be given to rural communities in Georgia with high levels of distress.

Funder: U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Amount: $978,545 

PI: Kaitlyn Casulli, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences