SAINT-JEAN-DE-L'ÎLE-D'ORLÉANS, QC, July 7, 2021 /CNW/ - Technology, innovation and research are crucial to farmers looking to boost production and enhance competitiveness. The research being carried out across Quebec and the entire country is helping our farmers remain well-positioned for future growth and prosperity.
Today, while speaking at Ferme Onésime Pouliot, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced investments totalling more than $1.7 million in funding for nine projects across Quebec, which will help support and advance innovation within the sector. Recipients included:
- Ferme Onésime Pouliot received up to $199,551 in AAFC funding to develop techniques that will lead to the production of well-performing, healthy, disease and pest-free strawberry and raspberry plants. The plants will be more productive because they will be free of pathogens and pests, allowing producers to reduce their use of pesticides.
- Institut de recherche et de développement en agroenvironnement received up to $552,411 in AAFC funding to develop profitable organic management of Tulameen long cane raspberries above ground and under tunnels. The project will allow growers to gain market share in the organic raspberry market, while reducing pesticide use.
- Les Moulins de Soulanges Inc. received up to $43,715 in AAFC funding to understand the discrepancies between Canadian and European winter wheat to improve the bread making quality winter wheat in Eastern Canada. The funding will measure the baking qualities of Canadian winter wheats and will allow the selection of varieties best adapted to our climates.
These AgriScience projects, plus the six additional projects announced today, are advancing innovation, pre-commercial science activities and cutting-edge research.
Quotes
"The projects announced this morning under the AgriScience Program once again demonstrate our government's commitment to supporting our farmers in developing the knowledge and know-how necessary to optimize the production of quality food while protecting the environment."
- The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
"We were fortunate to receive a substantial contribution under the AgriScience program. The research project entitled "Propagation of healthy strawberry and raspberry plants" will allow the development of techniques to produce healthy, pathogen-free plants. This will have a direct impact on Canadian berry producers and also on greenhouse production, which has enormous growth potential."
- Guy Pouliot, Owner, Ferme Onésime Pouliot
"Soilless organic berry production brings significant challenges to the Canadian horticultural sector. The IRDA happily welcomes this important contribution from the Department. It will ensure the continuity of our project, which will allow the achievement of advances adapted to the reality of Canadian farmers with respect to technical knowledge of substrates, fertilization and organic crop protection."
- Annabelle Firlej, Researcher in Fruit Entomology at the Research and Development Institute for the Agri-Environment
Quick Facts
- The AgriScience Program, an initiative under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, aims to support research activities to help industry overcome challenges and address fiscal barriers experienced by small and emerging sectors. The Program also seeks to mitigate high-risk opportunities that have the potential to yield significant returns.
- The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a $3 billion, five-year (2018-2023) investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen and grow Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector.
- Ferme Onésime Pouliot specializes in the production of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and sweet potatoes. The organization focuses on supplying fresh produce to grocery stores in Quebec and other eastern Canadian provinces, as well as conducting research and promote the advancement of scientific knowledge within the sector.
- Institut de recherche et de développement en agroenvironnement is a research and development institute whose mission is to support the development of sustainable agriculture in Québec by fostering innovation and partnerships.
- Les Moulins de Soulanges are creators and producers of specialty flour. They offer innovative flour solutions for the bakery and food industries while helping the environment and promoting local, Agriculture Raisonnée™-certified farming practices.
Additional Links
AgriScience Program
Canadian Agricultural Partnership
Backgrounder
Growing an environmentally sustainable agriculture sector in Quebec through science
July 7, 2021 – Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Québec – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
The AgriScience Program, an initiative under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, aims to support research activities to help industry overcome challenges and address fiscal barriers experienced by small and emerging sectors. The Program also seeks to mitigate high-risk opportunities that have the potential to yield significant returns.
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a $3 billion, five-year (2018-2023) investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen and grow Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector.
The AgriScience recipients announced today are as follows:
Recipient Name |
Province |
Project Description |
Federal Support Approved |
Institut de recherche et de développement en agroenvironnement Inc. |
QC |
The purpose of the study is to develop profitable organic management of Tulameen long cane raspberries above ground and under tunnels. The project will allow growers to gain market share in the organic raspberry market, while reducing pesticide use. |
$552,411 |
Les Moulins de Soulanges Inc. |
QC |
This project aims to understand the discrepancies between Canadian and European winter wheat to improve the bread making quality winter wheat in Eastern Canada. The project will also adapt wheat registration quality testing to reflect new industrial uses of winter wheat. |
$43,715 |
Carrefour industriel et expérimental de Lanaudière (CIEL)
|
QC
|
This project will characterize the agronomic and economic potential of cherry cultivars under Quebec climatic conditions and evaluate their potential for the markets targeted by Quebec producers. The results will be disseminated to producers to help them in their choice of cultivars to be planted. The results will also be shared with organizations developing cultivars in order to inform them and encourage them to take Quebec's needs into account. |
$91,931
|
Lallemand Inc. |
QC
|
The goal of this project is to identify novel enzymes capable of detoxifying mycotoxins and to deliver these enzymes as products to agri-stakeholders. This research builds on original work conducted at the London Research Centre, helping to enhance the knowledge of the science behind enzymes as a potential solution to addressing the challenges of mycotoxins in the Canadian grain sector. |
$187,500
|
La Ferme du Petit Chenal |
QC
|
This project aims to establish the potential of organic field pea to produce value-added protein ingredients for human consumption through an ultrafiltration purification/concentration process. The ingredients will be characterized in terms of composition, functional properties, digestibility and potential for the formulation of food products. Avenues for the restraint of by-products will be proposed. |
$41,550
|
Ferme Onésime Pouliot Inc. |
QC
|
The goal of the project is to develop techniques that will lead to the production of healthy strawberry and raspberry plants (free of pathogens and pests) that perform well in terms of fruit production and presence of diseases and pests. The ultimate goal of the project is to provide Canadian strawberry and raspberry growers with plants that meet high standards in terms of pest status, productivity and fruit quality. The project will enable growers to gain market share in the organic raspberry market, currently dominated by imports, while reducing pesticide use. |
$199,551
|
Fondation pour l'amélioration génétique de la laitue et des légumes feuilles |
QC
|
This project aims to develop the use of phytobeneficial bacteria in parallel with synthetic pesticides to control the main bacterial diseases in lettuce: bacterial spot, black spot and black vein disease, and soft rot. The bacterial strains will also be studied for their potential to improve plant growth and nutrient availability to plants and to develop better resistance to abiotic stress. |
$69,999
|
Centre de recherche en sciences animales de Deschambault |
QC
|
The purpose of this project is to evaluate the impact of changing water mineral composition on systemic acid-base balance, water and feed consumption, growth performance, bone mineralization, water excretion in broiler excreta and environmental footprint. |
$78,367
|
Centre de recherche en sciences animales de Deschambault |
QC |
The purpose of this project is to improve the management and understanding of the physiological changes to dairy cattle observed during heat stress and help develop nutritional guidelines that improve production efficiency and animal health in Canadian dairy farms. |
$450,413 |
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SOURCE Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Oliver Anderson, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, [email protected], 613-462-4327; Media Relations, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 613-773-7972, 1-866-345-7972, [email protected]
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