Boosting production | Genetics, agronomy and processing targeted
The federal government is kicking in $15 million over the next five years to support pulse industry research aimed at developing new varieties, expanding markets, improving agronomic practices and boosting production.
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz made the announcement July 29 in Saskatoon, calling the Canadian pulse industry a key driver of the Canadian economy.
Ritz said the federal investment, part of Ottawa’s commitment to agricultural research and innovation under the Growing Forward 2 policy framework, will give Canadian pulse producers a competitive edge over growers in other parts of the world and allow them to strengthen an industry whose exports are already valued at $2 billion annually.
Read Also
Wildfires have unexpected upside this year
One farmer feels smoke from nearby wildfires shrouded the July skies and protected his crop from the sun’s burning rays, resulting in more seeds per pod and more pods per plant.
“Today … I am pleased to announce that we are investing a further $15 million for a new pulse (research) cluster,” Ritz said.
“This investment is more than double … our previous commitment (to pulse cluster funding) under the original Growing Forward program. The new cluster will support the development of new pulse varieties, and improved agronomic practices as well as responding to consumer demands here and abroad for healthier foodstuffs.”
Ottawa contributed $7 million over five years to pulse research under the previous Growing Forward framework.
Funding for the new pulse research cluster will support projects that involve industry experts, universities and scientists at Agriculture Canada research facilities.
“We are supporting what industry has identified as the highest priority research done by the best experts, including scientists based at (Agriculture Canada) research centres across Canada,” Ritz said.
Lee Moats, a farmer from Riceton, Sask., and vice-chair of Pulse Canada, said the $15 million commitment represents a significant investment in pulse research.
He said the announcement demonstrates Ottawa’s support for ongoing industry initiatives aimed at establishing the Canadian pulse sector as a world leader in production and export sales.
Moats said the new funding means Ottawa will contribute roughly $2.50 for every dollar invested by growers.
“Keeping the Canadian (pulse) industry competitive means that we have to make investments to keep ourselves ahead, and not only with competitors at a global level but we also have to keep pulse crops competitive with other cropping choices (at home) if we expect Canadian farmers to keep growing them,” he said.
“At a grower level, this investment represents a tremendous opportunity to address pressing research questions.”
Moats said market development is a top priority.
The industry is attempting to boost demand for Canadian pulse crops by including more pulses in commercially manufactured food and establishing links between pulse consumption and improved health.
Carl Potts, executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, said it is still too early to say which specific projects will receive funding.
In general, research projects that receive funding will fall into one of four broadly defined themes: genetic improvement, agronomy, processing and utilization, and health-related research.
“Those were the four different theme areas in the cluster proposal that we submitted, and we’ve put together projects in all of those areas,” Potts said.
“Now … we need to basically take some of the expressions of interest that Agriculture Canada submitted to us and go back and sort of rework some of those proposals to fit within the overall funding envelope and within the priorities that government has laid out.”
Potts said prominent projects within the proposal deal with dry bean breeding, minimizing root rot in peas and soybeans, managing herbicide tolerant weeds and examining protein quality in pulse crops.
