BETTER CROP RESEARCH IS CRITICAL
BY KYLE LARKIN
Canadian grain farmers face unpredictable weather, rising costs and global market shifts. What keeps them competitive is progress, which often starts with plant breeding. The ability to grow higher-yielding crops, use fewer inputs and adapt to climate and pest pressures requires years of research, breeding and testing.
Breeding innovation provides farmers with real-world benefits. New varieties offer improved nutrient-use efficiency as well as stronger resistance to pests, disease and climate stress. These practical improvements pay off at the field level and contribute to productivity and sustainability.
Yet Canada is falling behind. According to RBC, the country’s position in global agriculture and agri-food trade has slipped from fifth place to seventh. Without meaningful action, it is expected to fall to ninth by 2035.
At a time when other countries are increasing their support for crop breeding, Canada is stepping back. This trend puts farmers at an unnecessary disadvantage and undermines long-term competitiveness.
Through consistent funding, public–private collaboration and applied research, Australia and Brazil demonstrate that strategic investment is key to staying competitive. Australia has developed a strong public–private partnership model. Its government research and development corporations offer tax incentives to encourage industry collaboration. Recent initiatives include the Sowing the Seeds of Farming Innovation Fund, which partners farmers and universities to drive practical, on-farm results. In Brazil, more than half of all public innovation funding is directed toward crop research. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation has helped position the country as a global ag leader by advancing sustainable, high-productivity technologies adapted to its farming systems.
Meanwhile, declining government investment in Canada has led to staff shortages across key research programs. Critical positions at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada remain vacant, specifically in plant breeding. When experienced researchers retire or leave and their replacement is delayed, the entire innovation pipeline slows. Infrastructure is also under strain. Aging research facilities and contracting processes that are difficult to navigate limit the speed and scale of progress.
There has also been a shift in research priorities. More resources are being directed to upstream, theoretical science. This often duplicates the work of universities and large institutions and leaves fewer resources for the applied research that helps grain farmers today. Incremental improvements in existing varieties may seem modest, but over time they deliver meaningful gains. They are central to farm-level profitability, resilience and environmental performance.
Certain crops rely more heavily on commercial breeding. To benefit their development, the public sector must do more to attract private investment. Regulatory burden and a lack of consistent incentives have made Canada less attractive to the private sector. Without targeted programs to support public–private partnerships, many crops will not receive the attention they need.
The Government of Canada must increase its level of investment in public crop breeding programs and ensure research sites are kept open and well-resourced. Canada must also eliminate regulatory burdens on private sector investment and return to a research strategy that reflects what farmers need most: practical tools to increase productivity and manage risk.
Plant breeding is where real progress begins. It is not about flashy headlines but rather involves steady improvements that help farmers do their jobs better. If we want to continue to move forward, we need to start by investing in the basics, and this means we must put more support behind the science that matters most.
Kyle Larkin is the executive director of GGC.
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