Federal and Saskatchewan governments fund crop research

Regina – Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit announced total funding of $17.6 million today for crop-related research in 2023.

Invested through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF), the announcement includes $10.3 million for 49 research projects, as well as $7.2 million in operational support over the next five years for the Crop Development Centre (CDC) in Saskatoon. Since being established in 1971, the CDC – a research organization with the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan – has released over 500 commercial crop varieties in over 40 different crop types.

Examples of the individual research projects being funded include exploring the diversity of Fusarium root to species infecting pulse crops, insect response to climate change and ag inputs across the prairies, economic salinity remediation strategies for agriculture water using innovative desalinization minerals and a nutritionally balanced pulse-oilseed protein-based beverage.

An additional $4.6 million was contributed in support of this year’s research projects by the following industry partners:

Alberta Wheat Commission
Alberta Barley Commission
Alberta Canola Producers Commission
Manitoba Crop Alliance
Manitoba Canola Growers
Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission
Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission
Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development Commission
Prairie Oat Growers Association
Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers
Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission
Western Grains Research Foundation

“The continued support of the ADF is greatly appreciated,” Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Board Chair Trent Richards said. “The funding supports SPG’s new research investments that work to address top concerns and improve profitability and competitiveness of Saskatchewan pulse producers.”

Each year, on a competitive basis, the ADF awards support to projects focusing on research with the potential to create growth opportunities for provincial agriculture producers and enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the industry in Saskatchewan. This annual investment helps generate new knowledge, information and technologies for producers and food processors, such as feed and nutrition information for ranchers and new crop cultivars and production information for farmers.

The ADF is supported through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year, $3 billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen the national agriculture and agri-food sector.