The next canola variety that handles heat better. A wheat variety with stronger disease resistance. A pulse crop that yields more in dry years. Those improvements don’t happen by accident.
Plant breeders from across Western Canada say Canada’s ability to deliver better genetics to farmers depends on three things: attracting more companies into plant breeding, speeding up regulatory approvals and doing a better job of getting information from farmers and seed testing labs back to breeders.
Those issues took centre stage during a panel discussion at the International Seed Testing Association meeting in Calgary last week, where breeders, biotechnology companies and seed analysts discussed what it will take to keep farmers competitive as weather becomes more unpredictable and public research dollars become harder to find.
For Alberta farmers, the timing matters. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is restructuring parts of its research system, meaning private companies are expected to play a bigger role in developing future crop varieties.
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