REGINA — Accelerated breeding is nothing new to the world of agriculture, but a homegrown initiative just received a big financial boost.
The Global Institute for Food Security operates at the University of Saskatchewan, and their accelerated breeding program received a $5 million commitment from Farm Credit Canada.
“For those who are being introduced to our organization for the first time, we were founded as a unique industry government academic partnership in 2012,” explained Steve Webb, CEO of GIFS.
“Our mission is to work with partners to discover, develop, and deliver innovative solutions for the production of globally sustainable food. I’m especially excited that we’re here at Canada’s Farm Show in Regina, which serves as a great reminder about why we do the work and who we do it for: Canadian farmers. And in particular, growers here in Saskatchewan, in Western Canada, where we produce some of the world’s most sustainable products and agricultural commodities in the world.”
The newly minted FCC Accelerated Breeding Program at GIFS seeks to increase yields for crop and livestock breeding, using such technologies as genomic selection, speed breeding, bioinformatics and computer simulations.
“We are proud to be part of Canada’s innovation ecosystem that is helping bring new tools and solutions to growers to build on these results and further enhance economic, environmental, and social sustainability of the entire agri-food system,” said Webb. “We have the opportunity today to reimagine how partnerships and collaboration can accelerate the velocity of innovation, the opportunity to bring even more new tools and technologies to enhance agriculture and food.”
Justine Hendricks, FCC president and CEO, spoke of the great work done at GIFS, highlighting the importance of it happening in Saskatchewan.
“It is a key pillar of our strategy with FCC’s investment of $5 million,” she said. “We are excited to support research and help enhance the future of food security. It’s about partnering with producers and industry to find innovative solutions that will ensure the crops grown and livestock raised are focused on today, tomorrow, and the well being of generations to come. Leveraging innovative solutions is not new to our industry, certainly not new to this province, and Canada has long been a global leader in sustainable production.”
Previous to her role at FCC, Hendricks worked with Export Development Canada, giving her more insight into the issue of food security on a global scale than the average individual.
“This partnership is about collaboration, and investing in impactful innovation,” Hendricks said. “It’s an opportunity to leverage our industry’s knowledge and new technology to address the challenges producers face. The accelerated breeding program brings together cutting edge science and practical agricultural knowledge. It will bring new crop varieties and livestock genetics to producers and other stakeholders much faster, which will stimulate rural economic growth and increased revenue.”
With the global population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, being proactive about food security is crucial. Currently, food demand has risen by 60 per cent, making projects like the accelerated breeding program more important than ever.
“The program will make food production more efficient, sustainable, and adaptable to the world’s evolving needs,” explained Hendricks. “Agriculture and food needs all of us supporting with our voices and investments to realize the change the world needs and keep Canada at the forefront of agricultural excellence. So looking ahead, we envision a future where our efforts today lay the foundation for new and innovative solutions that will drive increased productivity, economic growth, and further advanced sustainable production practices to feed Canada and the world. This partnership is a critical step towards that future.”
Provincial agriculture minister David Marit was also on hand for the announcement, beginning with sentiments of appreciation.
“On behalf of the farmers and ranchers of this province, thank you very much for this investment into the ag sector here, not only in the province, Saskatchewan, but all of Canada,” he said.
A founding partner of GIFS, the Government of Saskatchewan announced a large monetary injection of its own earlier this year, some $15 million over five years.
“This announcement today only enhances the value of the Global Institute for Food Security, and we’re very fortunate and grateful to have FCC as a partner,” Marit said. “This province is a global leader in agri-food research and production. Over the last five years, we’ve invested almost $52 million into crop related research through the Agriculture Development Fund alone. That’s the kind of support that helps our producers stay competitive and profitable in the international markets. That work can and does have a tremendous impact in Saskatchewan, and arguably around the world.”
Marit also noted how farmers in Saskatchewan— as well as agri-food stakeholders—“need that advantage.”
“It’s an advantage that enables them to continue setting the pace and development of new crop varieties in genetics,” he said. “That advantage helps to clear the ground for commercialization and increase competitiveness.”
Marit also referenced some of the goals in the growth plan, including an increased crop production to 45 million metric tonnes, livestock cash receipts to $3 billion, tripling the growth of the Saskatchewan tech sector, and growing provincial agri-food exports to over $20 billion.
“Saskatchewan has been setting records for agri-food exports in each of the last four years,” Marit said. “In 2023, our exports were $20.2 billion. We have reached our agri-food exports targets for 2036— years ahead of schedule. This investment by FCC in the accelerated breeding program enables more growth, further innovation and greater sustainability.”
Adding to the list of provincial accomplishments was Baljit Singh, vice-president of research at the University of Saskatchewan.
“We are very proud of the Saskatchewan agri-food system, and the reason we are very proud of that is because over more than 100 years, we have continued to evolve with time, we have continued to incorporate the latest principles in agri-food science into our production system,” Singh said. “That’s what has led to the sustainability of the system that we have when the world is just now getting used to using the word ‘sustainability’ everywhere.”
He also noted that the farming system in Saskatchewan has been focussed on sustainability for a long time.
“Over this course of time with the development of the College of Agriculture at University of Saskatchewan, we have continued to develop departments, centres and institutes to answer the question of the day and to provide the most compelling tools and technologies to the farmers who are very open to adopting those,” Singh explained. “This is the only jurisdiction that I can think of where a zero-till system has been adopted to a level where it’s nearly unachievable in so many other jurisdictions. It is because of that that the product we make is so grand and received and respected around so many parts of the world.”
Singh called GIFS a “major catalyst and accelerator” in the agri-food system.
“It is bringing the most modern technologies, and the technology platforms and the tools like artificial intelligence and machine learning so that we can speed up the development of crop varieties that can answer the needs of the changing climate,” he said. “And that can also withstand the scrutiny when it comes to sustainability.”
As a result of their dedicated and tireless efforts, GIFS has become a centre gaining worldwide attention. The reason for this notoriety—according to Singh—is the strong support and partnerships.
“Over the next decade, we have major challenges or questions in front of the agri food system, and entities like the Global Institute for Food Security are going to help us answer those,” he said. “That’s why today’s $5 million investment from the FCC will go a long way in making sure that GIFS has the tools and the technologies to support the agri-food system in our province.”
GIFS board chair Alana Koch expanded how the centre is an “initiative whose time has come.”
“Accelerated breeding is not new, however, GIFS has recognized the need and the opportunity to bring these technologies to crops and livestock that are valuable to Canada,” Koch said. “I’m so thrilled to see this happening. As a farmer, I’m very proud of the strides that Saskatchewan and Canadian agriculture have made over the decades in the face of challenges such as the changing climate, trade issues, conflicts and limited resources. We have continued to thrive, feeding the world and holding on to our reputation as an agricultural powerhouse in the world’s fifth largest agriculture and food exporting nation.”
She credits this result to farmers embracing innovations such as zero tillage, embracing herbicide-tolerant canola, and using sustainable crop rotations, for example.
“These innovations have resulted in our crop production being the least carbon-intensive compared to globally competitive regions as evidence in GIFS’ carbon lifecycle analysis that was released earlier this year,” Koch said. “While these innovations have carried us so far, we remain confronted with natural and manmade challenges to feeding the world. It is time to embrace other tools and technologies to take us even further. The need for innovation in agri-food has never been greater. Growth of agricultural productivity is lagging globally, and Canada is no exception.”
She also spoke realistically about how making these huge changes is not up to one organization to solve on it’s own, rather collaboration being the key.
“As the board chair of GIFS, I’m thrilled to see the institute play this important role in the ecosystem serving as a bridge between research and the market,” Koch said. “We need these bridges to help advance innovation to market and into the hands of end users as quickly as possible. But this is such a daunting task and no single entity can do on its own. This is why GIFS is about partnerships. It’s woven into our mission. It’s how we operate and it’s who we are—founded by industry, government and academia. The very essence of GIFS is to bring the best of all three stakeholders across the entire value chain together to transform inventions to innovations and deliver solutions for sustainable food production. From here in Canada to the world.”
