The federal and Saskatchewan governments on Wednesday jointly announced $14.7 million in crop research funding.
Invested through Saskatchewan's Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) and the Strategic Research Initiative (SRI) under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), the commitment includes $12.2 million for 56 ADF research projects and $2.5 million to support an SRI project identifying solutions to manage root rot in pea and lentils.
An additional $4.2 million was contributed by industry partners, including the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission, the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, and the Prairie Oat Growers Association, to support this year's ADF research.
This year's successful ADF projects cover a range of research topics, including enhancing flax abiotic stress tolerance; determining the impact of agronomic products containing calcium on soil conditions, plant growth and greenhouse gas emissions; understanding, mitigating and managing Group 14 resistant kochia; and developing a wet fractionation process for novel oat protein ingredients.
"Funding agriculture research is the first step to helping our producers stay competitive and profitable," said Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit. "Our growth targets for the end of this decade rely heavily on agriculture and agri-food products. Our commitment to projects like those being funded today, with strong support again this year from our industry partners, is an investment in Saskatchewan's innovative, export-based economy."
