Collective Resiliency and Small-Medium Enterprise (SME) Agri-Processors

Small-medium enterprise (“SME”) agri-processors are a vital part of a local economy and a key piece in the ag-value growth plans of many policy makers, including the Government of Saskatchewan. A competitive SME agri-processing sector provokes a multiplicity of innovation, a diffusion of economic risk (due to the creation of anti-fragility within the sector), and spins out considerable economic growth for the surrounding community.

The vulnerability and importance of individual SME agri-processors has been exposed in recent years, with the presence of century-level disruptions (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), rising instability in global trade and food security, and heightened pressures related to interest rates, inflation, and supply chain disruption.

This report explores the concept of building collective resiliency in the agri-processing sector by embracing a collaborative ethos and designing clustering initiatives that are decluttered, positioned to foster the right type of adjacency, and are led by Collaborative Champions.