How ElevateIP helped AgriTech North secure groundbreaking technology that could transform food access in Canada’s most remote Indigenous communities.
In the small Northwestern Ontario town of Dryden, a revolution in agriculture is quietly growing. Led by Métis entrepreneur and research scientist Benjamin Feagin Jr., AgriTech North is rewriting the narrative on food insecurity for rural and Indigenous communities, one passive greenhouse at a time.
Founded during the pandemic as a way to be closer to family while creating social impact, AgriTech North emerged with a bold mission: reduce food costs in Northern Indigenous communities by 25%. The company’s vertical farming hydroponics system is the first year-round farm in Northwestern Ontario. For communities where fresh produce is a luxury — often marked up 20 times city prices and barely edible by the time it arrives — the promise of locally-grown, nutrient-rich food is transformative.
But the innovation that powers this movement almost never made it to market.
IP Protection: The Make-or-Break Moment
As a small-to-medium-sized enterprise (SME), AgriTech North faced the same vulnerability many startups do: exposure to IP theft. While subcontracting a component of their disruptive greenhouse technology, the company encountered a malicious attempt by an international contractor to delay production, extract additional funds, and patent the technology themselves.
“It only came out of the woodwork after our lawyer got involved, and explained that we patented the technology before we ever engaged with them or signed a contract. It was already patented…Only then did they produce the contract deliverables,” Feagin said. “So without ElevateIP, we would have lost control of our industry-disruptive greenhouse technology, which we think is going to solve Canadian food insecurity.”
The ElevateIP program not only prevented the loss of critical IP, but effectively safeguarded what Feagin calls “a $2 billion annual greenhouse structures market in Canada and over 150,000 downstream jobs.” More importantly, it kept an Indigenous-led innovation in Indigenous hands, preventing social and financial exploitation by foreign interests.
A Passive Innovation with Powerful Reach
While most ag-tech companies invest in costly robotics or AI-based automation, AgriTech North’s approach is refreshingly simple and scalable: passive systems that eliminate the need for skilled labour, drastically reducing operating costs. Their model is uniquely designed for the very communities most often left behind — remote, rural, and Indigenous populations, where traditional supply chains fail.
“Most people in these regions eat from a box or a can, out of necessity — particularly rural Indigenous communities that only have one store,” Feagin said. “The price for fresh produce is marked up 20 times the price of what we might see in the city, rolled in a ball of wax to try to keep it fresh, but it’s clearly rotting on the shelves.”
AgriTech North’s greenhouse technology offers more than just fresh produce — it lays the groundwork for systemic change. A report from the Ontario Diabetes Database shows that food insecurity significantly increases the risk of chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes: Canadians from food-insecure households face over double the risk of developing the disease compared to those with stable food access.
The ripple effects go even further: when people are food secure, they are healthier, more financially stable, and better positioned to thrive. Improvements in nutrition often lead to enhanced mental health, reduced reliance on social services, and greater opportunities for employment and housing stability, creating a powerful pathway toward inclusive and equitable community growth.
From Dryden to the Nation
With the protection of ElevateIP, AgriTech North now has the freedom to scale its model nationally. Over the next three to five years, Feagin and his team plan to exit day-to-day farm operations and shift focus to greenhouse manufacturing and deployment. Their vision: empower other communities to adopt the model and end food insecurity across Canada.
And their credibility is growing. AgriTech North was crowned the winner of APTN’s Bears’ Lair entrepreneurship competition, taking home $100,000. It is also a certified B Corporation, reinforcing its long-term commitment to social and environmental accountability.
Still, Feagin remains grounded.
“Recognition is nice,” he said, “but rural communities don’t care about awards. What matters is the good we’re doing. And in the business world, we’re constantly bombarded with complaints and naysayers… the recognition helps balance that out and put the wind back in our sails.”
Why ElevateIP Matters
For innovators like AgriTech North, ElevateIP isn’t just a funding program — it’s a shield. A modest investment of $100,000 helped protect a national-scale solution to food insecurity, saved an Indigenous innovation from theft, and positioned a small-town startup to disrupt an entire industry.
“ElevateIP helped us keep our IP in Canada, keep Indigenous knowledge in Indigenous hands, and keep our mission intact,” Feagin said. “This is what inclusive innovation looks like — and it’s what will truly change lives.”
