Paulina Cholango Martinez, GIFS platform leader, Plant Growth Facilities, is examining plant roots. DAVID STOBBESupplied
A growing population, finite resources and a pandemic are all challenges to feeding the world more sustainably.
Thankfully, agriculture can offer a viable solution for advancing food security, mitigating the impact of climate change and delivering a more sustainable future. Established in the earliest times of civilization, agriculture has now evolved into a data-driven, innovation-intensive sector. Its value chain includes every player in the complex food system involved in research, development and in moving food from farm to fork.
“Canada is one of a few global net exporters of food and a leader in sustainable production; agri-innovation is driving change and helping deliver quality crops in great quantity and with reduced environmental impact,” says Steven Webb, chief executive officer of the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).
A public-private partnership, GIFS was established in 2012 by Nutrien, the Government of Saskatchewan and USask, and works to deliver agri-innovation for sustainable food production using Saskatchewan’s and Canada’s strengths.
Located at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, GIFS operates in the heart of a massive agricultural biotechnology industry. The province is home to over 30 per cent of this industry in Canada, the majority of which is in and around Saskatoon. GIFS joins entities such as Ag-West Bio, Nutrien, USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources and its Crop Development Centre, the Protein Industries Canada supercluster, the Canadian Light Source, the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre, the Global Institute for Water Security, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute and many more to make Saskatchewan one of the world’s largest clusters for agri-food and bioscience.
With a mission to work with partners to discover, develop and deliver innovative solutions for the production of globally sustainable food, GIFS connects diverse partners in this rich ecosystem, advancing innovation and agtech to improve production agriculture in an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable way.
Improved photosynthesis leading to reduced carbon emissions
A current project at GIFS is focused on boosting photosynthesis in crops – the process by which plants absorb and sequester carbon to create food and energy.
“Agriculture is part of the solution for managing greenhouse gas emissions, and photosynthesis is a natural solution for carbon sequestration,” says Dr. Webb. “Our scientists are working to enhance nature’s solution to improve the photosynthetic ability of plants, improve quality crop yield and reduce carbon emissions – a win for economics and the environment.”
Using platform technologies to rapidly scale up crop research, development and production
Dr. Steven Webb"Our scientists are working to enhance nature’s solution to improve the photosynthetic ability of plants, improve quality crop yield and reduce carbon emissions – a win for economics and the environment.
Chief Executive Officer of the Global Institute for Food Security, University of Saskatchewan
GIFS is also using innovative technologies to support research and development that will enhance digital agriculture, accelerate plant breeding, increase quality crop yield and build plant resilience to climate change.
One of these technologies is a new engineering biology facility in development that will be Canada’s first focused on agriculture. A relatively new field in Canada, engineering biology combines the power of automation and digitization, biology and computation to rapidly scale up the design and production of more nutritious and sustainable crops, food products, medicines and more.
Another initiative driving innovation in agriculture is the Omics and Precision Agriculture Laboratory (OPAL). Managed by GIFS and a partnership between NRC, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and USask, OPAL combines the digital data analysis of microbial, plant and animal genes and traits with the latest precision agtech, such as drones and GPS, to improve crop yield, sustainability and profitability in the agri-food sector.
Collaboration to bridge the innovation gap
There’s a gap between agriculture research and commercialization, and GIFS is working with partners to bridge it. One example is the Global Agri-Food Advancement Partnership (GAAP), a partnership between Ag-West Bio, GIFS, Innovation Place and the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre, which provides a soft landing for existing companies looking to gain access to the North American market, growing early-stage technology within Canada and advancing innovation from around the world.
“Agtech needs more than accelerators and incubators as structural differences in the industry make the innovation gap challenging to bridge,” says Dr. Webb. “GAAP will provide needed support systems for the development of agtech in Canada – including money, mentorship and valuable time – to permanently position Canada as a world leader in these areas.”
With a sustainable agriculture sector, excellent food production that delivers products across the globe and investments in research, the innovation opportunity for Canada is immense.
“Canada offers the world so much when it comes to agriculture and food, but there’s room to do more,” says Dr. Webb. “By building scale through technologies, bridging the innovation gap and working collaboratively with partners, we’re well on our way to leading the world in every sphere of sustainable and sufficient food production – taking innovation from the lab bench through to commercialization and delivering products that cater to market needs in a way that makes sense economically and without compromising on the environment.”
For more information, visit http://www.gifs.ca.
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