SASKATOON — The government of Saskatchewan has allocated $15 million over five years to the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan.
Founded in 2012 as part of the University of Saskatchewan's world-class agri-science hub, GIFS works with its partners to provide expertise and leadership in the discovery, development and delivery of innovative solutions to produce globally sustainable food.
In January, GIFS released the results of a two-year study providing evidence that Saskatchewan's production of five major field crops has a significantly smaller carbon footprint in comparison to regions that export the same products, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy and the United States. The conclusions of the study have become a fundamental aspect of Saskatchewan's sustainability story and the sector's increasingly important role in global food production.
"The investment will enable collaboration with partners on our market-facing programs, including accelerated breeding, biomanufacturing and policy and regulatory - maximizing Saskatchewan and Canada's sustainable production of safe and nutritious food for a growing world," GIFS CEO Steve Webb said.
The funding for GIFS will provide $3 million each year from 2023-27 to support its ongoing operations, contributing to Saskatchewan's agriculture sector through work such as supporting crop breeding through sequencing, bioinformatics and data analytics services or technology development that facilitates commercialization of new products.
"USask has a storied history of leading agriculture advancements and the funding announced today will allow us to continue our world-leading agricultural research and development," University of Saskatchewan President Peter Stoicheff said.
