Canterra, Limagrain create cereal breeding program

Canada’s Canterra Seeds and Limagrain, the world’s fourth largest seed company, have announced a a new cereal breeding and development partnership
The new venture, located in Saskatoon, will be called Limagrain Cereals Research Canada and will develop new varieties of cereals, with a specific focus on wheat, using the most advanced technologies currently available.
“Canterra Seeds and Limagrain already have a history of working to bring cutting-edge cereal varieties to farmers,” said David Hansen, head of Canterra, in a news release.
Limagrain and Canterra will also broaden their partnership to enhance the distribution of cereals in Western Canada. To that end, LIimagrain is acquiring a minority stake in Canterra Seeds (Holdings) giving it the right to appoint representatives to the Canterra’s board of directors, the release said.

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Hansen said the deal was made possible with the passing of Bill C-18, which amended Canada’s Plant Breeders’ Rights Act to make Canada compliant with the 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV ’91).
“There is no understating the importance of this deal to Canadian agriculture. Modernizing our Plant Breeders’ Rights Act has opened up a whole new world of wheat. Our farmers can now buy and grow varieties that they couldn’t access before,” said Hansen.
Canterra has a history of working with Limagrain, a farmer-owned French co-operative and one of the most extensively integrated agricultural companies in Europe.
Completion of these transactions is subject to several conditions including ongoing due diligence and the requirement that there be no changes to Bill C-18. It is expected that the transactions will be complete by the end of September, the release said.
The board of Canterra Seeds (Holdings) has also adopted a new board voting policy which requires, in addition to any approval required by the Canada Business Corporations Act, or the articles or bylaws of the company, a minimum level of approval by the directors for certain fundamental matters.