MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Saskatchewan could play an integral role in feeding the world if it continues to develop its agricultural resources properly, says the dean of agricultural and environmental sciences at McGill University.
Chandra Madramootoo said predictions that the global population will reach nine billion people within a few decades have pushed food security issues to the fore.
“We’re going to need to think about how Canada and Saskatchewan can contribute,” he said in an interview at the Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association’s annual meeting.
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He said Saskatchewan has the land and water resources to meet increasing food demands, but improved agricultural systems are required.
Irrigation development will be a big part of those systems.
Lake Diefenbaker is not being used to its potential nearly 50 years after its construction. Successive governments know that potential exists but haven’t put the money into large scale irrigation development.
Madramootoo said the development in southern Alberta was done largely with private money from the railways.
“I believe that in the same way that the railways had a vested interest when they wanted to crop the Palliser Triangle, it could be that this global food crisis is going to be another trigger to bring the private sector in,” he said.
“We know that governments are strapped.”
He said Canada is a surplus food producer, but the developing world is experiencing a crisis.
“I don’t think Canada can just sit by and say we’re not going to be part of the solution when we’re sitting on all these resources here,” he said.
Land, water and new technology will efficiently produce food to feed the growing world, he added.
He said irrigation practices in the future will focus more on precision and variable rate irrigation. Improved crop genetics, such as drought and salt tolerant crops, are also key.
Boyd Derdal of RainMaker Irrigation in Outlook, Sask., told the meeting that equipment manufacturers are aware of the role irrigation will play in growing more food. Variable rate technology is one response.
Mike Boyd of Valley Irrigation said manufacturers have been called upon to be “incredibly” efficient.
“We’ve got to grow more food,” he said. “How much water do we have available to grow that food?”
Sprinklers are more efficient, providing better infiltration and more uniformity.
“If you have a sprinkler package that is more than five years old, you might want to consider what other products are available,” he told producers.
Boyd said a U.S. study found that variable rate irrigation increased corn yields by 13.3 bushels per acre over fields without the technology.
That said, farmers aren’t exactly flocking to the technology.
“To date, the adoption rate has not been blockbuster performance,” Boyd said. Maybe 100 systems per year are sold, he added.
