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University of Manitoba researchers developing climate-resilient food production in partnership with Indigenous communities

Researchers at the University of Manitoba (UM) are at the forefront of a massive international “re-imagining food systems project,” spanning six continents and involving over 10 countries.

The goal of the three-year initiative is to improve the access of Indigenous and marginalized groups to traditional foods and develop climate-resilient food systems through an Indigenous circular-economy model. The university is working with Myera Group Inc., a Métis-led and Manitoba-based company, in collaboration with Indigenous communities to help lead, inform and guide the project.

“Ultimately, we’re looking to create a sustainable food system in partnership with Indigenous communities,” says Az (Ashley A.) Klymiuk, an assistant professor at UM in the Department of Biological Sciences and an Indigenous scholar in science.

For Dr. Klymiuk, who is Cree Métis and a member of the Métis Nation within Alberta, the project underscores the university’s commitment to reconciliation through support of “Indigenous innovation and Indigenous-led projects. It reflects research priorities focusing on climate-adaptive food systems, food sovereignty and developing technologies or models of economic growth that allow us to engage with stable, climate-resilient food supplies.”

Dr. Klymiuk’s work, through the lens of a circular-economy approach, is directed at exploring ways of cycling waste to use as feedstock or nutrients to support agriculture in the context of wild rice production. Grown in Northern Manitoba – and a traditionally harvested food of Indigenous people – wild rice tends to be unpredictable.

“It’s sensitive to environmental conditions, including dramatic changes in water levels during flooding and drought,” says Dr. Klymiuk. “Rapid fluctuations in the weather are putting pressure on wild rice production.”

Climate change impacts are a particular concern for those relying on wild rice as a proximal food source or as a means of economic gain, explains Dr. Klymiuk. Wild rice can be grown in paddy systems like Oryza (Asian varieties of rice), yet rice paddies produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global heating.

Research has shown conclusively that wild rice also grows in semi-saturated soils, where this is associated with fewer methane emissions compared to paddies, Dr. Klymiuk notes.

“We want to reduce the amount of methane that’s being produced. We want to create economic opportunities for the Indigenous communities that engage with this process. Creating broad acreage wild rice crops in ways that minimize methane and CO2 production, while ensuring a consistent supply, would be a win-win situation.”

A related challenge, however, is that while growing rice in semi-saturated soils results in less methane, the outcome is also less biomass and seed. That is an indication, says Dr. Klymiuk, who is a mycologist, “that there is a need for fungal partners to help mobilize phosphorus.”

This has inspired an exploration into the incidence of mycorrhizal fungi in wild stands of wild rice, says Dr. Klymiuk. “Depending upon results, we’re going to be culturing out mycorrhizal fungi, reintroducing them to wild rice plants, and assessing the impacts, with the ultimate goal of creating a ‘cocktail’ or consortia of mycorrhizal partners that we can pair with wild rice in these semi-saturated soils to improve their growth and productivity, to give them a boost so that we don’t need to put as much fertilizer into these systems.”

Currently, Dr. Klymiuk’s team is engaging with Indigenous communities to identify which parts of the circular-economy model they would like to trial with the intent of creating value in the community.

“Whether that value goes to individuals, cultural revitalization or conservation efforts, it’s up to the community,” Dr. Klymiuk notes. “But we’re creating opportunities for them to engage in types of agriculture that they may not have had access to previously.”

As part of the “super-economy model,” the project team is experimenting with the development of value-added products – such as rice cakes, protein shakes and snack puffs – that could also contribute to “creating sovereign wealth” for the communities.

Dr. Klymiuk says they are “delighted to be able to do discovery science in this culturally important system.

“As an Indigenous person, being able to link my work very clearly to food sovereignty initiatives is really important. This is one situation where I really feel that the work that I’m doing will be effectively shared with the community. It’s something that I feel very strongly about, and for me, that brings joy.”


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