Government of Canada announces funding to help soybean farmers manage extreme weather

Aug 02, 2024

Kingston, Ontario – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Soybeans are one of the largest field crops in Canada, generating $14 billion in annual economic output. Research and innovation in the soy industry are helping producers evolve by enhancing crop resilience and yield in response to more frequent extreme weather events and the need to reduce the environmental footprint of farms, while feeding a growing population.

To support soybean producers, today, Mark Gerretsen, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands, on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced up to $2,325,361 over 4 years to Performance Plants Inc. (PPI) through the AgriScience Program – Projects Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

This funding will allow PPI to develop climate change-resistant, high-yielding soybean through selected genetic lines and will also enable field testing. The objective is to create soybean varieties that are more heat and drought tolerant, herbicide resistant, use water efficiently, and sequester carbon into the soil. PPI continues to further new soybean trait and genome development to ensure they have the best characteristics to withstand harsh climates.

Source : Canada.ca

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.