Today, on behalf of the entire value chain, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Cereals Canada released updated wheat research priorities through to 2022.
The Economic Strategy Tables and Budget 2020 have both identified Agriculture as a key sector to drive Canadian economic growth. The Economic Strategy Table set a challenging growth target of increasing agricultural and agri-food exports to exports to $75 billion annually by 2025. Agricultural growth will create jobs for Canadians in both urban and rural Canada and in every region of the country.
“Canada’s wheat sector is at the heart of Canadian agriculture. Achieving our ambitious export goals will only be accomplished if the profitability of this vital component of the industry increases for every part of the value chain, including farmers. Research and technology will drive the necessary growth in productivity and profitability. Collaboration between public and private researchers and full communications between each link in the value chain will significantly enhance our ability to deliver the innovation the sector requires,” AAFC and Cereals Canada said in a news release.
National wheat research priorities have been developed and refined through a unique national collaboration of farmers, federal and provincial governments, public research institutions, exporters and processors, led by Cereals Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The five research priorities are:
- improving wheat yield
- improving wheat yield reliability
- increasing sustainability
- improving food safety
- increasing our ability to respond to consumer needs, both internationally and domestically, by enhancing the feedback mechanisms between purchasers, researchers, and producers.
The first report on priorities was released in 2017. Today’s instalment refines the objectives and measurements for the five research priority themes and updates the priorities based on new understanding of the value chain. The report lays out the priority areas of research that public, private and producer groups should focus on for the next two years in order to ensure that this $7 billion wheat industry provides growing and sustainable profitability into the future.
The report lays out a roadmap for innovation for public and private researchers, farmer-led organizations that fund innovation, and governments who continue to invest in wheat research and development. The report also provides a first picture of where research dollars are spent, allowing the value chain to measure work against the established goals and refine objectives for success.
Stakeholders in every region of the country can use this document to better understand where efforts and funding should be focused in order to achieve greater success for Canada’s important wheat sector.
