Planting trees could be one way to transform Saskatchewan’s rural economy and alleviate climate change, Ralph Goodale told a conference here last week.
The federal minister of natural resources, who is also responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board, said growing trees as a crop would broaden the economy.
Research into hybrid poplars that mature in about 15 years is under way at the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration shelterbelt centre at Indian Head, Sask.
Native aspen is getting harder to find, and these hybrid trees, grown on marginal land at the northern edge of the grain belt, could supply the pulp industry.
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Goodale said agroforestry must be considered a legitimate form of economic diversification in rural areas.
Aside from commercial fibre, he said trees can provide stock for ethanol manufacturing, a sheltering environment for nutraceutical crops like sea buckthorn and ginseng, and specialty wood products.
“I don’t pretend for one minute that agroforestry is some panacea for what ails the family farm,” Goodale said.
“But where the right conditions exist, it can be helpful in the quest to extract more dollars into the pockets of rural people from every acre of land.”
More trees can also absorb more carbon, which would help Canada get credit for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Goodale said now that rules on carbon sinks have been clarified, Canada must take advantage of the opportunity by dedicating land to tree production.
