The federal and Saskatchewan governments will invest $6.5 million in funding for 38 crop-related research projects. The money is part of a record $20.4 million provincial research budget in 2012-13, an increase of more than 50 percent since 2007.
The federal and provincial agriculture ministers made the joint announcement during the SaskCanola Producer conference and annual general meeting held during Crop Production Week in Saskatoon today.
With successive wet crop years in parts of the province, federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said the projects would help improve methods of crop disease control and weather tolerance.
Read Also
China says ‘rampant’ U.S. protectionism threatens agricultural ties
U.S. protectionism is undermining agricultural cooperation with China, Beijing’s ambassador to Washington said, warning that farmers should not bear the price of the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
The research projects are aimed to help achieve goals set out in the province’s growth plan of increasing crop production by 10 million tonnes and increasing provincial agriculture exports by $5 billion by 2020.
The new projects will also further enhance Saskatchewan’s reputation as a leader in crop production and research, said Lyle Stewart, provincial Agriculture Minister.
Crop-related projects receiving funding in 2013 include:
•   Improved weed management.
•   Improved yields for wheat.
•   Genetic mapping of blackleg disease in canola.
•   Disease resistance in cereals and pulses.
•   Improvements in the nutritional value of oats.
•   New technologies to assess sprout damage in wheat.
•   Herbicide tolerance in mustard varieties.
•   Addressing genetic and disease obstacles to canary seed production.
•   Methods to control and eradicate clubroot in canola.
