Saskatchewan crop researchers qualified for $8.3 million in government funding through the province’s Agriculture Development Fund in 2012.
It was the highest amount ever approved by the ADF in a single funding year.
The money, which is usually distributed over several years, will help pay for research that could result in higher yielding crops, better disease resistance and crops with enhanced nutritional and end-use qualities.
Funding for ADF-supported programs comes from the Saskatchewan and federal governments.
The two levels of government make a joint funding announcement each year, usually in early January.
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This year’s $8.3 million will provide support to 34 crop-related projects and will be split between research in oilseeds ($4.1 million), cereal crops ($2.3 million), pulse crops ($1.2 million), fruit and vegetables ($527,000) and other crops ($38,000).
University of Saskatchewan researchers were by far the biggest beneficiaries. U of S researchers, including those at the university’s Crop Development Centre, received nearly $5.7 million.
The remaining $2.6 million will be shared between researchers at the National Research Council ($710,000), Agriculture Canada ($594,000), Agrisoma Biosciences ($490,000), Linnaeus Plant Sciences ($435,000), Quantum Biosciences ($200,000) and the University of Regina ($173,000).
ADF funding represents one of the major funding sources available to Saskatchewan crop researchers.
Additional funding is also available through other government programs, producer check-off programs and private sector partnerships.
One of the biggest individual winners in this year’s ADF announcement was U of S plant researcher Martin Reaney, whose project qualified for $732,000 in funding.
Reaney’s project, entitled Processing of High Glucosinolate Cruciferous Plants, is aimed at developing a process to produce biopesticide concentrates from cruciferous plants grown in Saskatchewan.
Other oilseed-related projects approved for ADF funding include:
- an Agriculture Canada project aimed at identifying virulence factors that contribute to blackleg in canola
- an Agrisoma project aimed at introducing new traits into carinata and developing a new industrial oilseed with improved oil characteristics that are suited to the biofuel industry
- a CDC project that could lead to the development of early-maturing or northern-adapted flax varieties
- an NRC project that examines clubroot resistance genes and associated markers in canola. The project could pave the way for the development of new clubroot resistant canola varieties using marker-assisted breeding
SaskCanola chair Brett Halstead said government funding delivered through the ADF not only supports research but also contributes to the profitability of individual farmers.
“Research is critical to the success of canola producers and we support these projects, which will help im-prove farmers’ profits,” he said.
A complete list of projects approved for ADF funding can be found at www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/ADF.
