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to drought, heat and cold stresses; require less nitrogen
fertilizer; and produce increased yields.
“By 2050 we will need a 60 per cent increase in food
production. At the same time, we are facing challenges from
climate change, limits to expanding growing areas, and the
availability of water,” said Faouzi Bekkaoui, executive director
of the Wheat Improvement Flagship Program. “We believe that
working together as a partnership and alliance will maximize
our chances of succeeding and fulfilling the demand for the
increase in wheat globally.”
The CWA will invest approximately $97 million over the first
five years of the initiative, with a goal of increasing the value of
wheat at the Canadian farmgate by $4.5 billion by 2031.
HEAT IS CANADA'S MAJOR COMMODITY CROP
,
and one of the most popular food crops in the
world—yet for the last 20 years, research has lagged
and production has decreased. A new research alliance is
bringing together some of the superpowers in Canadian
genetic research and cereal development to fill the gap and
ensure future competitiveness of Canadian wheat farmers.
The Canadian Wheat Alliance (CWA) is an 11-year
commitment between Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
(AAFC), the University of Saskatchewan, the Province of
Saskatchewan and the National Research Council Canada
(NRC) to work together to develop new and improved varieties
of wheat that are resistant to disease; have increased tolerance
BY TAMARA LEIGH • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELECTRIC UMBRELLA
Winter
2014
Grains
West
42
KEEPINGWHEAT
COMPETITIVE
Feature
SERIOUS ABOUT CEREAL:
Faouzi Bekkaoui, left, and Andrew Sharpe are working to keep wheat's profitability high.