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Sask. crop research receives $11 million boost from province, feds

"These projects will support producers and agribusinesses and help secure our place as a world leader in agriculture research," David Marit, Saskatchewan's agriculture minister, said in a release.

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A University of Saskatchewan researcher who received more than $1 million to go towards four pulse crops projects says the funding is essential for progress in farmers’ fields.

Sabine Banniza, a professor of plant pathology at the U of S, is receiving more than $1.3 million for projects looking at plant root health in pulse crops, including stopping root rot in peas. Crop-related research in the province received a boost on Tuesday, with the announcement of $11 million in funding under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership for 47 crop-related research projects through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF).

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Sabine Banniza, a professor of plant pathology at the U of S, is receiving more than $1.3 million for projects looking at plant root health in pulse crops.
Sabine Banniza, a professor of plant pathology at the U of S, is receiving more than $1.3 million for projects looking at plant root health in pulse crops. Photo by BRANDON HARDER /Regina Leader-Post
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“Without this sort of funding, I wouldn’t be able to do research and without research, in particular research of this type, we wouldn’t make progress in breeding for resistant varieties,” Banniza said in an interview.

Her team’s work is informed of the issues experienced by growers, which the researchers learn about by gathering samples, conducting surveys and talking with people in the field.

“We have quite close connections with producers,” she said.

Projects receive money from the development fund based on their research into areas of importance to Saskatchewan producers, according to the provincial and federal governments.

“Producers reap huge rewards from the new knowledge and discoveries developed by research. They become more profitable and more productive,” said federal minister of agriculture and agri-food Marie Claude Bibeau in a statement.

Other projects being funded include how to manage clubroot, mitigating herbicide resistance and adding value to commodities, said David Marit, Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister.

“These projects will support producers and agribusinesses and help secure our place as a world leader in agriculture research,” he said.

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The goal in investing in crop-related research is to increase crop production in Saskatchewan to 45 million metric tonnes.

The Saskatchewan Agricultural Development Fund is supported through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, with $388 million over five years from the federal and provincial governments. The projects supported through the fund are also receiving $8.7 million in funding from nearly a dozen partner organizations.

anhill@postmedia.com

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