b'CURTIS POZNIAKS WHEAT BREAKTHROUGHS SHOW WHAT CANADA RISKS LOSING WITH RESEARCH CUTSOne of our most accomplished wheat breeders highlights why public research capacity still matters for food security, innovation, and farmers.By Marc ZienkiewiczBEFORE AGRICULTURE AND Agri-Food Canadavate industry is not new; it is the foundation of how modern (AAFC) announced sweeping cuts to its researchpublic breeding programs function.stations and scientific workforce, University ofAt the CDC, funding and support are deliberately balanced Saskatchewan crop scientist Curtis Pozniak wasacross partners, including provincial governments, commodity already thinking about what happens when publiccommissions, seed companies and private industry. That diver-research capacity begins to thin. sity, Pozniak said, helps stabilize programs when one funding In a wide-ranging interview conducted priorsource changes direction.to the federal budget announcement, Pozniak We collaborate closely with Ag Canada, but we also director of the Crop Development Centre (CDC)compete in the variety development space, he says. Our at the University of Saskatchewanspokevision is to apply science to develop varieties that have impact candidly about research risk, long-term capacityon farmers fieldsand the best way to do that is through and the growing responsibility universities andpartnerships.partners may need to shoulder in Canadas cropThose partnerships include long-term producer investments breeding system. in core breeding and research chairs.Where Capacity is Most at RiskEven before the AAFC cuts were announced, Pozniak identi-fied late-stage disease testing and variety registration trialing as potential pressure points in the system.Historically, much of that work, particularly for cereals, has relied on AAFC infrastructure and personnel. Pozniak says public breeding programs were already preparing for a future where more of that responsibility would shift else-where.Weve been adapting internally to take on more of that capacity ourselves, he says, not just to support our own programs, but also to support other public breeding programs and the merit testing system.Beyond testing, Pozniak points to broader capacity needs: access to land across representative agro-ecological zones, Curtis Pozniak receives the Bertebos Prize in January.specialized equipment, and, critically, highly qualified people.Photo: Eric CronbergWhy Stability Matters More Than SpeedAt the time, his comments were framedPozniak repeatedly returns to one central idea: stability. around evolving partnerships and infrastructureUnlike short-term research projects, plant breeding requires needs. In hindsight, they read as a warning. decades of consistent investment to deliver value. The CDC Plant breeding is a long-term venture,itself was born out of that thinking, originally focused on crop Pozniak says. Its not three- or five-year fundingdiversification, a strategy that helped build Canadas now-cyclesits 10, 15, 20 years before you really seebillion-dollar pulse industry.the benefit of that investment. Today, the CDC is focused on improving the market share of its varieties, which currently account for roughly 50% of A System Built on Shared Capacity its crops. Modern breeding strategies are central to that effort, Pozniak stresses that collaboration between uni- but Pozniak says that efficiency gains cannot replace founda-versities, governments, producer groups and pri- tional capacity. 20 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA MARCH 2026'