The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) published guidance regarding plant breeding, which will facilitate innovation and development of improved plant varieties. This guidance supports the introduction of gene-edited products in the Canadian market.
“This is an important step for ongoing canola innovation and Canada’s success,” says Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada (CCC). “Canola itself is the product of Canadian innovation, and plant breeding innovation has been key to canola generating nearly $30 billion in nation-wide impact each year.”
Plant breeding advancements are a critical part of the canola industry’s Keep it Coming strategy that guides the value chain and prepares for the opportunities and challenges ahead, including improved productivity to meet global market demand. New varieties will help make Canada’s canola crop more resilient in the face of pest pressures and climate change, support higher yields on each acre of farmland and improve sustainability through enhanced resource use efficiency.
A key feature of the industry’s new Canola Innovation Strategy, plant breeding innovation has been a longstanding priority of CCC advocacy.