Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series on innovators in Canadian seed testing. Use the buttons at the bottom to navigate through the articles.
As farmers face new challenges from pests, diseases, and climate change, the role of seed testing innovators is more important than ever. We put out the call for people in the field who are revolutionizing seed testing with cutting-edge techniques, advanced technologies, and a commitment to sustainable practices. From molecular diagnostics to precision sampling methods, these five pioneers are not only enhancing the reliability of seed testing but also paving the way for a more resilient agricultural future.
Enabling Public-Private Partnerships
Ruojing Wang
Section Head, CFIA Seed Science & Technology Section, Saskatoon Laboratory
Saskatoon, Sask.
Ruojing Wang currently heads up Canada’s last remaining federal government laboratory for seed certification testing and weed seeds analysis. But this isn’t a story about a scientist fighting to keep public seed testing services alive. Quite the opposite.
When Wang first joined the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in 2006, she was struck by the legacy methods that had remained unchanged for nearly a century.
“I was amazed that for over 100 years, we hadn’t been able to advance our testing methods,” Wang recalls. “But I soon realized that it’s not because we lack the will to innovate. It’s due to the complexity involved — quality control, regulations, and taxonomy all play a role.”
She’s remained undeterred in her quest to modernize seed testing, and her solution is clear: embracing new business models that leverage the talent and technology found in the private sector. She cites Canada’s strong relationship between government and private sector labs as a model for other countries.
“I’ve always felt that the government lab plays a critical role because we don’t just conduct our own testing; we also enable others, particularly the private sector, to do their testing,” she says.
“We started working closely with the industry to solve shared problems, providing technical support to seed laboratories, overseeing them, and collaborating on the revision and development of official Canadian testing methods.”
The result is today’s seed testing landscape, where private labs conduct the vast majority of seed testing services and serve as alternative service providers.
“Many years ago, we started down this path of gradually transferring seed testing responsibilities to the private sector. However, it wasn’t just a handoff where CFIA stepped away. CFIA has positioned itself as a key player, ensuring we have oversight while enabling the private sector to provide testing service. In this system, private labs represent government in performing those tests, and government’s role is the oversight to ensure quality control and provide technical support of their testing,” she says.
“That’s something where I think private labs appreciate the government role compared to other countries where private labs handle testing, and government has limited technical support. In Canada, we prioritize strong support from government, so when private labs face challenges, we can work together to solve the issues effectively.”
For example, when there are changes in regulation, CFIA and the private sector work together on training, particularly when it comes to regulated seed identification. This was a major reason why Wang initiated the International Seed Morphology Association (ISMA). The ISMA platform publishes its Seed Identification Guide, interactive digital tools and establishes a database for identifying seeds of weeds, economically important and wild plant species.
“Seed identification has been a key focus because private labs often lack the resources —like physical references or technical support of taxonomy or botany. Back in 2009, we started a pilot project to generate seed diagnostic images for private labs, and while they found it useful, they needed more interactive training tools. In 2017, we launched ISMA which opened the door to global collaboration.”
Through ISMA, Canadian seed testing officials work with experts from the U.S., Australia, Europe and beyond. They contribute their knowledge to ISMA publications, giving the seed industry better support for seed identification.
She’s also chair of the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA) Advanced Technology Committee and the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) Purity Committee, and is working with committees in both organizations to develop a guideline for advanced technology applications for computer vision seed testing.
Through her collaboration with the CFIA’s artificial intelligence lab, Wang is developing AI models that can auto-recognize difficult species — those that even the most trained human eye might struggle to identify. It’s a topic she’s excited to talk about as ISTA prepares to hold its annual gathering in Calgary, Alta., from June 22-25, 2026 — the first time the ISTA annual meeting has been held in Canada since 1983.
Wang represents the ISTA-designated authority of Canada and was instrumental in making the successful bid that will bring the event here. Other key players in the bid included 20/20 Seed Labs President Sarah Foster, SGS Canada Crop Science Lab Manager Janek Bartel and CFIA Seed Section National Manager Wendy Jahn.
“Making the bid was a collaborative effort between industry and government, and I’m really happy about that. When both the private sector and government are involved and collaborating, it leads to great things,” Wang adds.
Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series on innovators in seed testing. Use the button below to discover our other four innovators.
