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Global Institute for Food Security receives funding to promote agriculture practices

Apr 13, 2022 | 1:00 PM

MELFORT, Sask. — Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) will undertake a study to define the agriculture sector’s contributions to the environment.

GIFS Chief Executive Officer Steven Webb said it’s important work with so much attention on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

“It’s a recognition of the contributions of a resilient value chain and the many stakeholders who have continued to work tirelessly through challenging global conditions to feed the world through sustainable agriculture practices,” Webb said.

Agriculture is a solution to mitigating the effects of climate change, and Canadian agriculture in particular is one of the most sustainable in the world, according to Webb.

“We have an advantage we should be proud of, that we need to share globally, and will help yield results that will drive benefits for agriculture, Saskatchewan and Canada’s economy,” he said.

GIFS is a founding partner of the National Index on Agri-Food Performance, an initiative to track sustainability success across Canada’s agriculture and agri-food industry. GIFS will collaborate with stakeholders to show the economic, environmental, and social value that agriculture offers.

Using scientific data management and analytics capabilities, GIFS will analyze the science to define agriculture’s role in sequestering and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Saskatchewan government will provide $2 million in new funding to GIFS for this study.

Agriculture Minister David Marit said the funding highlights agriculture’s contributions to mitigating the effects of climate change. He said Saskatchewan has already proven to be a leader in sustainable agriculture through practices like no-till technology.

“Saskatchewan’s producers have always been advocates of best practices in farming and food production which is something that has established our province as a global leader in proven, sustainable approaches to agriculture,” Marit said. “This funding will help to promote and enhance understanding of these approaches as a model for continued progress.”

alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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