Saskatchewan's 2021 Agriculture Scholarship Now Accepting Applications

Dec 18, 2020

The Ministry of Agriculture's Agriculture Scholarship Program for 2021 includes one scholarship of $4,000 and three runner-up scholarships of $2,000 each.

Farm Management Extension Specialist Jaycee Peutert says this year’s theme is ‘transparency’.

Participants are being encouraged to explore what transparency is and how it is connected to the public’s perception of modern agriculture.

She notes applicants can either submit a 3 minute video or a 1000 word essay on the topic of Transparency in Agriculture.

The scholarship program is available to students in Grade 12 and/or recent graduates who are entering agriculture-related post-secondary studies in 2021.

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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.