University of Guelph to lead national network focused on agri-food innovation

The University of Guelph is starring the instauration of a web meant to spur concern successful Canadian agri-food innovation, including processing caller technologies to code pressing issues similar clime change.

The assemblage received an astir $16.3 cardinal authorities assistance implicit 5 years to enactment the platform, called Sustainable Food Systems for Canada, oregon SF4C. The level is designed to assistance agri-food entrepreneurs turn their businesses.

Canada’s agriculture manufacture is facing respective large challenges, successful peculiar clime change, said Rene Van Acker, interim president and vice-chancellor astatine the University of Guelph.

He says exertion tin assistance farmers look that challenge.

“Agriculture has ever been an adapter of technology, whether that was mechanical oregon familial oregon chemical, and present data,” helium said.

He said thing that tin accelerate that adaptation volition assistance amended productivity successful the assemblage portion besides making it much resilient to clime change.

Van Acker said the web aims to enactment agri-food startups moving connected technological solutions to immoderate of the sector’s astir pressing challenges.

The inaugural brings unneurotic 13 post-secondary institutions from crossed the country, arsenic good arsenic a fig of organizations including the Canadian Food Innovation Network, the Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food and the National Circle for Indigenous Agriculture.

The inaugural volition beryllium made up of 3 programs: a grooming platform; a mentorship service; and activities, events and workshops.

The web is intended to link the universities and colleges but besides different organizations successful the agriculture and nutrient sector, Van Acker said.

“They don’t needfully speech to each other, they don’t needfully synergize, they don’t needfully stock oregon enactment together. So the web thought was an accidental to person immoderate backing to physique connective insubstantial betwixt these assorted actors,” helium said.

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“It’s not complicated, but it does person to happen. It has to beryllium done, and it needs immoderate wealth to get it disconnected the ground.”

Much of the probe that happens successful the agri-food assemblage is astatine nationalist institutions wherever caller innovations are adopted to assistance farmers summation their productivity and grow their operations, said Van Acker.

He says the assemblage lacks a “culture of innovation that is much entrepreneurial, that is astir starting caller businesses, creating caller businesses from innovation, and expanding the sector.”

“This web is simply a push, a large propulsion successful that vein,” helium said.

Much of the cutting-edge exertion being developed and adopted present successful the assemblage revolves astir collecting and utilizing data, said Van Acker.

The level volition beryllium co-chaired by Evan Fraser, manager of the Arrell Food Institute astatine the University of Guelph, and Lenore Newman, manager of the Food and Agriculture Institute astatine the University of the Fraser Valley successful Abbotsford, B.C.

“Together, they volition bring unneurotic experts from agriculture, veterinary medicine, Indigenous organizations and startups to enactment programs crossed Canada and signifier 1 of the world’s largest nutrient strategy innovation grooming networks focused connected agri-food,” the property merchandise said.