Agriculture This Week: Where will science take crops?

Jan 06, 2023

If you are an agricultural producer you have to be fascinated with what science could provide in terms of crop production in the year ahead.

Actually, when you consider the sheer volume of ‘science’ being undertaken the potential of advancement on most fronts of human endeavour are at the very least fascinating to consider.

But, farm production advancements bring it closer to home, and stand to be a positive for that important sector of the Prairie economy.

The science of farming really is going in directions which would make a science fiction writer like Isaac Asimov proud.

Click here to see more...

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.