Project expected to enhance Canadian canola’s value in global markets
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - The Government of Canada is committed to growing the economy, creating middle-class jobs and keeping Canada competitive. That is why we created the Innovation Superclusters Initiative in 2018, bringing together small, medium-sized and large companies, academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations to serve as anchors of innovation, growth and job creation across the country.
Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced a new commercial breeding project to produce high-protein canola hybrids for both human consumption and animal feed. This $27.6-million R&D effort is the latest project to be approved by the Protein Industries Canada supercluster, a pan-prairie initiative seeking to make Canada a leading source for plant proteins.
Corteva Agriscience, Bunge Canada and Botaneco, a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), are collaborating to breed high-protein canola using gene-editing technology. These new canola seed varieties are expected to be well suited for both traditional processing methods like crushing and newer technologies like the one being developed through the supercluster’s first supported project announced in June. In turn, this will make Canadian canola even more of a premium product in global markets over the next decade, resulting in economic benefits across the entire value chain.
Source : Government of Canada