Student Summer Farm, Food and Fisheries Bursary Program
The Student Summer Farm, Food and Fisheries Bursary Program (SSB) supports summer labour needs, youth engagement and work experience in the agricultural sector in BC.
Full-time students employed in BC agriculture, food, beverage or seafood processing, fishing and aquaculture sectors during the summer season are eligible to apply for a bursary of up to $3,000.
Sign up for the SSB Newsletter
Approach
Bursary Amount
Both secondary and post-secondary students will be eligible to receive the following bursary payments, depending on total hours worked:
| Minimum | Maximum | |
| Hours Worked | 250 hours | 500 hours |
| Bursary Amount | $1,500 | $3,000 |
Funding amounts may be prorated for hours worked between 250-500. This will allow 1–4-month blocks of work that are in better alignment with picking/harvesting throughout the summer months.
Funding will be awarded on a first-come first-serve basis. Applicants may apply without confirmation of employment, however, will only be conditionally approved for funding pending the submission and confirmation of employment.
Who Can Apply
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants must be:
- 16 years old or older before the first day of the summer season (May 1, 2026)
- Be enrolled in full-time studies in the current academic year and intend to return to full-time studies in the fall¹
- Enrolled in a designated educational institution²
- Legally permitted to work in Canada
¹A full-time student is an individual who is accepted to full-time enrolment in a secondary or post-secondary institution. Each institution may have a different definition of full-time, please consult your school for confirmation.
²Designated educational institutions include
- Canadian secondary schools, universities, colleges, and certain other educational institutions.
- Canadian educational institutions certified by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) providing courses that develop or improve skills in an occupation, other than courses designed for university credit.
- Universities, colleges, or other educational institutions in the United States that give courses at the post-secondary school level if the qualifying student is living in Canada throughout the year and commutes to that institution.
Eligible Activities
Applicants must already be hired by an employer within one of the following sectors or seeking a job in one of the following sectors:
- Primary Agriculture
- Food, Beverage, and/or Seafood Processing
- Fishing or Aquaculture
- Nurseries for bedding plants (large-scale/wholesale production)₃
A minimum of 250 hours must be completed within the summer season to be eligible to receive a bursary payment through the Program. For this program, the summer season is defined as May 1, 2026, to September 1, 2026.
₃Nurseries for bedding plants, specifically those involved in large-scale or wholesale production. This excludes garden centers, landscaping and/or farm supply stores (including feed).
Ineligible Participants and Activities
The following participants, activities and expenses are not eligible to be funded under the Student Summer Farm, Food and Fisheries Bursary Program. This list is not exhaustive and is meant to be used as a guideline.
- Students under the age of 16 during the work term
- Students who aren’t returning to school and/or full-time studies in the Fall (following the work placement)
- Part-time students or those enrolled in graduate/post-doctoral studies
- Job placements outside of the agriculture, seafood/food/beverage processing, or fishing/aquaculture sectors
- Job placements outside the province of BC
- Job placements with Farmer’s Markets, apiaries, community gardens, hobby farms, landscaping, Industry Associations, research farms, food security and/or non-profit organizations
- Remote job placements, office and retail positions, social media, events coordination, sales etc.
- Employment with a company based/headquartered outside of BC
Applications
Students are required to complete an online application on the IAF Client Portal. Applications for the summer 2026 season will be accepted starting January 27, 2026 until program funding is fully subscribed. Notification of the closing date will be provided via the program webpage and newsletter.
Bursaries will be awarded on a first-come first-serve basis. Students may apply without confirmation of employment, however, will only be conditionally approved for a bursary pending the submission and confirmation of employment.
Applications Open
You can apply for a bursary for the 2026 summer
Applications Close
Submit your application by 4:00 pm PT
How to Apply
Create an Account
Create a personal profile on the IAF Client Portal by providing your name and email. When creating an account, ensure you answer YES to the question ‘Are you applying for the Student Summer Farm, Food and Fisheries Bursary Program?’. Students must create a personal profile on the IAF Client Portal. Applications submitted through a family member’s account won’t be accepted.
Apply for SSB
Once you’ve created an account, select Student Summer Farm, Food and Fisheries Bursary Program from the Funding Opportunities, and provide:
- Applicants contact information
- Date of birth
- Bank account for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payment
- Employment Information (i.e. sector student will work within, estimated hours of work to be completed)
- Confirmation of employment
- Education level information (i.e. high school, post-secondary student)
- Proof of full-time school enrollment
Bursary Notifications & Contracts
If the application is approved, IAF will inform the applicant of the details of the decision and any associated terms and conditions. The applicant then enters into an agreement with IAF which outlines the obligations of each party.
Reporting Requirements
Upon finishing the summer work season, the applicant will be required to report and submit proof that they completed the minimum number of hours. This includes the submission of paystubs/payroll hours that have been provided by the employer. Students must complete a minimum 250 hours of work with an employer to be eligible to receive the minimum bursary payment of $1,500. A maximum of 500 hours can be claimed to a bursary payment of $3,000. Any number of hours worked between 250-500 hours can still be claimed, but bursary payments will be prorated accordingly. All payments will only be issued at the end of the work season. Program participants will be required to complete a survey as part of their final reporting requirements.
Funding Acknowledgement
This program is funded by the Governments of Canada and BC, therefore; acknowledgment of funding is required when publicly communicating about a project and/or funding. To ensure appropriate acknowledgments, all communications and marketing materials, including public announcements or social media posts, must be pre-approved by the IAF Communications Team. Materials can be submitted via the IAF Client Portal.
Resources
FAQ
Funding provided by:
The Student Summer Farm, Food and Fisheries Bursary Program is funded under the Agriculture and Food Workforce Development Initiative (AWDI). AWDI is funded by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement. The initiative is a $15M fund designed to support BC’s agriculture industry to provide a stable and increasing food supply through targeted efforts to recruit and retain a sufficient workforce to meet the labour needs of the industry. AWDI is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF).