As Canada’s average crop area per farm now accounts for nearly 60% of total farm area, constant research and innovative management practices are crucial for Canadian crop protection. In order to keep farmers competitive, the Western Grains Research Foundation has recently received funding for agronomy research.
The Western Grains Research Foundation has been awarded $6.3M from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriScience Program.
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriScience Program is designed to help businesses accelerate the pace of innovation and research and development for projects that benefit the agricultural and agri-food sector. The research and innovation grants will allow the Western Grains Research Foundation to further study agronomic challenges and develop solutions for threats impacting crop production.
AgriScience Provides $6.3M in Funding for Agriculture Projects
The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) is a farmer funded and directed non-profit organization investing in agricultural research that benefits Western Canadian producers. For over 35 years, WGRF has been investing into a variety of development and field crop research, ensuring the projects with the most potential are funded.
In addition to the $6.3M funded through AgriScience, WGRF has also received $2.7M in industry contributions, for a total funding amount of $9M.
The funding will be applied towards a five-year Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster initiative, directed to agronomy research into multi-crop, integrated crop production. Agronomy is the science and practice of land cultivation, soil management, and crop production.
This science cluster will focus on resiliency to climate change, knowledge and technology transfer, and improving the sustainability of crops in multi-crop and whole-farm cropping systems. This will be the first AgriScience Cluster that is solely focused on agronomy research.
Examples of agronomic issues include soil health, adapting to climate change, crop rotations, and threats such as insects, weeds, and disease. The Western Grains Research Foundation will also further advance sustainable and strong cropping systems.
AgriScience: Research and Innovation Grants for Canada’s Agri-Food Industries
The AgriScience Program is a stream of funding provided through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), a five-year framework to support Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector. AgriScience is specifically designed to help Canadian businesses perform research and development projects that benefit the agricultural and agri-food sector, either independently or as part of an innovation cluster.
AgriScience provides up to 50% for businesses and up to 70% for non-profits. Approved projects/clusters may be eligible for funding up to $10M per year.
Project types that are eligible for funding include strengthening knowledge transfer and adoption, investing in discovery and applied science for major commodity sectors, and enhancing efforts in clean growth, environment, and climate change.
The program is currently open and accepting a continuous intake of applications until March 31, 2023, or until funding has been fully committed.
To receive a guided overview of funding for agriculture projects supported through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, please register for an upcoming Agriculture and Agri-Food webinar.