The Canadian Wheat Research Priorities Report focuses on wheat yield and reliability, sustainability and food safety
By: Kate Ayers
Print and Online News Reporter
The Canadian government is supporting innovation in agriculture to help increase farmers’ returns through the recent development of national wheat research priorities.
Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada, discussed the importance of advancing research within the wheat industry.
“Provincial and federal governments provide on-going funding. Wheat research is a central part of the research program of Agriculture Canada as well as the provincial governments. However, this (report) is the first time this priority setting process has been undertaken,” said Dahl to Farms.com yesterday.
The federal government collaborated with farmers, provincial governments, private development companies, public research institutions, exporters and processors to produce the 2017 Canadian Wheat Research Priorities Report, according to Tuesday’s Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) release.
Improving wheat yield and reliability, increasing sustainability and improving food safety are the top research priorities over the next five years. Research will also help the ag industry respond to consumer preferences and needs.
“The purpose of this project was to bring together everyone involved in wheat research across the country … together to agree on a national set of research priorities that are linked to the marketplace. Our exporters and processors were involved in this (process) as well to ensure that, when we are looking at research priorities, we consider what our customers are looking for as well,” said Dahl.
And AAFC highlighted the importance of collaboration in developing strong research initiatives.
“Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s science and innovation play a fundamental role in helping industry respond to evolving funding needs, changing producer and consumer demands, and overall sustainability and competitiveness of the sector. This collaborative work helps focus our efforts to the areas that matter most,” Dr. Gilles Saindon, associate deputy minister of AAFC, said in the release.