Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency for the Yorkshire and Humber economy, has agreed to continue to support the region's food and drink industry with cash funding for another five years.
It is to invest a further £8.8M in projects designed to boost developments in products, processes and packaging in the sector. The cash will also go towards helping the region's food businesses find new markets and export opportunities.
Yorkshire Forward is also encouraging the region's producers to use local provenance as a way of increasing profit margins.
Barry Dodd, board member for Yorkshire Forward, said: "Food and drink is the largest manufacturing sector in the region, employing more than 60,000 people within over 1,000 businesses - the largest concentration of food and drink businesses in the UK."