Agriculture Canada is protecting its crop research by improving security at its Saskatoon field site.
Rows of spruce trees conceal the site near Saskatoon’s zoo while it is secured by chain link fences topped with barbed wire, a gate house, a commissioner and sliding electric gate.
David Wall, assistant director of Agriculture Canada’s Saskatoon Research Centre, said fencing is common at research sites across the country. He said the commissioner was added two years ago to help the department keep tabs on those coming and going from the site through the growing season, from tradespeople to tour groups to staff.
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The amount of biotechnology research taking place in Saskatoon does drive the need for heightened security, Wall said.
The improvements were made to protect research investment and provide general security for staff and facilities. Staff have security cards that they wave over scanners to unlock gates.
An increase in activism and the destruction of genetically modified crop test plots in Europe is now also occurring in the United States.
“It’s just a matter of time before something like that happens here,” he said. “It’s better to be proactive and protect the investment we’ve made in the research.”
The zoo site has not been damaged but vandals joyriding through a nearby unfenced site in recent years flattened test plots.
“When it’s breeding materials, you have years of investment.To lose that has the potential to set back research programs and cause the delay of introducing new varieties.
“A fence is expensive to put up, but it’s a lot more expensive to have to repeat all that research,” Wall said.
