b'BREEDING for the BIOECONOMYWhat cropsand traitsare in demand in this rapidly-growing economic sector. Treena HeinTHE BIOECONOMY OFCanada is growingand that haschain and more, and how can we accelerate progress in repercussions for the breeding of several star bioeco- these areas. nomic crops. Its about speaking in one voice, he says, which helps What is the bioeconomy? At the core, it is the useinvestors and other groups have certainty in the sector. of renewable biological materials (from trees or plants/ And what does Marshall think government policy crops) to produce anything outside the realms of humanshould focus on, now that the strategy is in place? In food and animal feed. The sector is usually divided upshort, on encouraging innovation. into four subsectors. One is biochemicals; for exampleWe need clear and simple regulations to stimulate Milligan Biofuels in Foam Lake, Sask., makes and marketsbioeconomic development, he says. An example of this fuel conditioner, road dust suppressants and more fromwould be regulations that promote the development and off-grade canola. Others are biohealth (e.g. CBD oil fromuse of bio-based plastics by ensuring product manufac-hemp) and bioenergy (ethanol production from corn,turers are responsible for their containers from cradle to directly burning crop residues, renewable natural gas).grave.The fourth is biomaterials, where wood or crop mate- Thats already on the way. Prime Minister Justin rials are processed to some extent to achieve uniformityTrudeau announced in mid-June that his government and added to things like concrete.will ban single-use plastics by 2021 and also intends toCanadas first national bioeconomic strategy wasmake sellers or manufacturers of plastic products take launched in May, developed by Bioindustrial Innovationresponsibility for their recycling.Canada (BIC) and its partners and supported by $200,000And while federal and provincial governments in funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canadaalready provide some funding for the development of (AAFC). The strategy, says AAFC, will help Canada meetnew bioeconomic processes and products, Marshall says its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, developit could be more structured and focussed to reduce the new sector markets and more.inevitable risks involved in innovation. The establish-Having a formal national bioeconomic strategy matters,ment of anchor companies (larger firms that support the says BIC executive director Sandy Marshall, because itbroader industry) is also needed, he says, as is country-communicates to Canadians and others around the worldwide broadband internet so farmers can take advantage that the bioeconomy is important to the entire country.of the growing, harvesting and storing of crop materials A number of other countries have created simi- and companies can take it from there.lar strategies, and now that we have defined what ourIn terms of crop materials, starch and residues from industry believes the priorities to be, we can leveragecorn and straw from crops like wheat are already in use our advantages and maximize the value of our biomass,in the bioeconomy, but the oil from a number of lesser-Marshall explains. Creating the strategy also helps us seeknown crops is becoming more important for industrial what is holding us back in terms of regulations, supplylubricants, fuel and more. Mirexus Biotechnologies in Guelph converts sweet corn starch to glycogen nanoparticles that can be used in many products in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and more. Photo courtesy Mirexus46GERMINATION.CA JANUARY 2020'