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This story was first published on RealAgriculture.com on Sept. 30, 2026.
Canadian farm and industry organizations are calling for a national plant breeding strategy that recognizes the different economic and regional realities affecting crops across the country.
Nine producer and industry organizations have endorsed a joint vision, A National Plant Breeding Strategy Must Work for Every Crop, calling for stable public investment where needed to ensure a continued pipeline of new varieties for Canadian farmers.
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The organizations include the Atlantic Grains Council, Producteurs de grains du Québec, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Bean Growers, Ontario Canola Growers Association, Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers, Prairie Oat Growers Association, Alberta Pulse Growers, and SeCan.
The groups argue that public investment is particularly important for crops where market size and royalty economics are not sufficient to attract significant private-sector breeding investment. They identified oats, food-grade soybeans, wheat and barley grown in Eastern Canada, Ontario-grown canola, and some pulse crops, including dry beans, as examples.
“Plant breeding is an investment in the future of Canadian agriculture,” said Jeff Harrison, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario. “We need to make sure our breeding system can support the full range of crops farmers grow across the country, including those where private investment alone may not be enough.”
“Our farmers need varieties that are developed and tested for our unique growing conditions, including our weather, soils, pests and diseases,” said Robert MacDonald, chair of the Atlantic Grains Council. “Continued investment in locally relevant breeding is essential to maintaining a productive, competitive and resilient Atlantic agriculture sector.”
The organizations are calling for renewed, multi-year federal investment ahead of the next agricultural funding framework in 2028. According to the joint statement, current funding for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada-supported breeding programs is set to lapse at the end of the current framework.
With development of a new variety often taking more than a decade, the groups say long-term funding is needed to maintain breeding capacity and ensure varieties already in development can continue through testing and evaluation.
They are also asking that the next AgriScience Program support all aspects of variety development, particularly for crops receiving less private-sector investment.
At the centre of the proposal is the argument that a national strategy should not apply a single funding or breeding model to every crop. Instead, the organizations said the system should account for differences in crop economics, regional growing conditions, and market needs.
Their shared vision calls for “a plant breeding system that recognizes the unique realities of each crop, is anchored in stable public investment where needed, is responsive to regional growing conditions, and delivers a steady pipeline of varieties that are beneficial to farmers, customers, and Canada’s food system.”
The organizations said they plan to continue discussions with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and other stakeholders ahead of the 2028 funding framework.
The full text of the National Plant Breeding Strategy can be found on the Grain Farmers of Ontario website.
