‘By helping Canadian processors find new uses for byproducts that were once considered waste, we're diversifying the agricultural sector’
The federal government has launched a new project that would help Canadian organic growers and processors develop a new use for byproducts from the pulse processing industry.
Through the project, products that were once considered waste will be turned into fertilizer to deliver nutrients to plants. It would also create more than 4,500 jobs for Canadians and add more than $4.5 billion to the country’s economy over 10 years, says the government.
“The project takes an SME-developed technology to the next level by putting it to the test in fields across western Canada,” says Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and industry. “By helping Canadian processors find new uses for byproducts that were once considered waste, we're diversifying the agricultural sector and creating more jobs for Canadians."
The project will take Lucent BioSciences' proprietary technology for "micronutrient fertilizers" to the manufacturing stage with partners AGT Food and Ingredients and 4D Labs, a research facility at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby.
“This supercluster project has the potential to not only make farming more eco-friendly but also improve the quality of food that farmers grow,” says Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of environment and climate change.
In February, the government also announced the creation of the Ocean Startup Project under the Ocean Supercluster. Both projects are part of the Innovation Superclusters Initiative, which brings together companies, academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations to serve as anchors of innovation, growth and job creation across the country.
In November 2019, Albert introduced a bill that would allow farmers to no longer follow employment standards rules or have workplace insurance. The bill also states that farm workers would no longer have the right to unionize or bargain collectively.
