Ambitious plans to develop Saskatchewan’s agroforestry industry have suffered a potential setback.
Approximately $300,000 a year in research funding from the Canadian Forest Service has been eliminated as a result of the recent federal budget.
The money was to go to the Saskatchewan Forest Centre and represented about one-third of its forest development fund, part of which went specifically to agroforestry-related research, including demonstration sites, species evaluation and market development.
Provincial government officials, who have been promoting agroforestry as a way to diversify the province’s agricultural base, expressed disappointment and premier Lorne Calvert said he would raise the issue with prime minister Stephen Harper.
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The province has announced a goal of converting 10 percent of Saskatchewan’s arable land, or about 4.5 million acres, to agroforestry over the next 20 years.
Industry officials say that will require lots of research into developing varieties of hybrid poplar with better cold tolerance and disease resistance, along with improved weed control.
The federal announcement surprised Robin Woodward, chief executive officer of the centre.
“All of our discussions had been that a one-year extension of the funding was a lock,” he said.
He added he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the funding will be reinstated after discussions with federal officials.
If those efforts are unsuccessful, there’s no question that much-needed research into areas such as agroforestry and fire and forest ecosystems will suffer, he said.
“We would try to keep the programs going, but there would be a reduction.”
Ken Van Rees, a soil scientist and agroforestry chair at the University of Saskatchewan who has received money through the fund, said he’s concerned about the impact of the funding reduction.
“It’s always a struggle when agencies pull their funding for any reason,” he said.
At the same time, he expressed confidence that it wouldn’t have a major impact on Saskatchewan’s progress in developing a viable agroforestry industry.
“I think it’s a blip along the way,” he said. “There are other avenues of getting money as well, which we’re trying to access.”
