Province commits $15M for food security
The announcement of $15 million in funding from the province is an investment for the entire agricultural innovation sector, CEO of the University of Saskatchewan's Global Institute for Food Security says.
The five-year funding commitment for GIFS will provide $3 million annually until 2027 to support the company's ongoing operations and also Saskatchewan's agriculture sector, including crop breeding through sequencing, bioinformatics and data analytics services or technology development, the province says.
Agriculture Minister David Marit announced the funding on Monday at GIFS' home in Innovation Place on the U of S campus. Founded in 2012, GIFS offers research and development of globally sustainable food.
The funding, CEO Steve Webb said, “is an investment in agricultural innovation for the entire sector and will support our operations and mission as we work with partners to deliver innovation for sustainable agriculture and food production.”
The investment, Webb added, will help maximize Saskatchewan and Canada's sustainable production of food in a growing world, enabling collaboration with partners in policy and regulatory programs, accelerated breeding and biomanufacturing.
Marit said the commitment made by the province to GIFS “is fundamental to keeping our agriculture industry a global leader in technology, production and best practices, and the track record GIFS has established proves it.”
The province on Monday noted that GIFS in January released the results of a two-year study that shows Saskatchewan's production of five major field crops has a significantly smaller carbon footprint compared to similar productions and regions in countries such as Australia, France, Germany, Italy and the United States. The conclusions of the study have become what the province called “a fundamental aspect of Saskatchewan's sustainability story and the sector's increasingly important role” in global food production.
“This announcement reinforces our province's commitment to sustainable agricultural practices,” University of Saskatchewan president Peter Stoicheff said.