The federal government has announced $27 million over five-years (2016-2021) through the Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program (AGGP). The investment is intended to help create technologies, practices and processes to help the agricultural sector adjust to climate change and improve soil and water conservation by developing new farming practices and methods.
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay, alongside the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and Member of Parliament for Edmonton, Mill Woods, and the Hon. Amarjeet Sohi, announced 20 new research projects across Canada.
“Agricultural water use efficiency is one of the four priority areas of research. The other priority areas are livestock systems, cropping systems and agro-forestry,” said James Watson spokesperson for AAFC.
“The 20 new research projects supported by the Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program (AGGP) span from coast-to-coast, from the University of British Columbia to collaborative research with conservation groups in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. They range in scope from studying GHG emissions from blueberry, potato and forage crops in B.C. to planting willow trees in areas irrigated by rivers in the Atlantic as a means to sequester carbon.”
The announcement was made at the University of Alberta in Edmonston, which received an investment of $3.7M for three projects that will explore the environmental footprint of different cereal crops, cattle grazing systems, and shelterbelts.
More information about the other AGGP projects will be available as we work with universities and conservation groups to announce details of all 20 new projects.
