Four Nova Scotian companies have been selected to receive as much as $40,000 each in the GreenShoots program, which offers guidance to agriculture, food, bioproducts, cleantech and related companies.

GreenShoots – which is organized by Innovacorp, the Nova Scotia Innovation Hub and Guelph, Ont.-based Bioenterprise Corporation – is a competition for early-stage companies in the agri-technology, bioeconomy and related sectors. It was first held last summer and the organizers have just announced the participants in the second cohort.

Here are the four startups selected for GreenShoots 2021 winter round:

Akso – Sam Gao, Frank Xin, Dr. Guangling Jiao – Halifax

Natural health products from marine origins to boost declining immune systems in seniors.

Ardra – Pratish Gawand, Sandy Der, Mirsad Jakubovic – Sydney

Natural ingredients for foods, cosmetics and nutraceutical markets using fermentation.

CoteX Technologies – Santosh Yadav – Sydney

Low-cost controlled-release fertilizers for farmers.

Greenlight Analytical – James Wylde, Simon Benwell – Dartmouth

Portable analyzer to measure cannabis safety and quality.