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Government invests in Eastern Canadian canola and soybeans

July 17, 2013, Halifax – The Government of Canada is investing toward the canola and soybean industries in Eastern Canada, announced Gerry Ritz, minister of agriculture, in Halifax today.

The Eastern Canada Oilseeds Development Alliance (ECODA) will receive an investment of up to $3.3 million from the AgriInnovation Program's industry-led research and development stream under Growing Forward 2 to conduct research focused on increasing the successful and profitable production of high-quality canola and food-grade soybeans on eastern Canadian farms, Ritz announced. This project builds on a previous investment of $3.1 million under the first Growing Forward's Developing Innovative Agri-Products and $747,000 under the Agricultural Innovation Program. 

ECODA is a not-for-profit organization based in Charlottetown, P.E.I., that works with producers, processors, exporters, researchers and governments to increase the economic value and export potential of the canola and soybean industries in Eastern Canada. One of the alliance's objectives is to make Eastern Canada a bigger player in the European and Japanese markets for food-grade soybeans and in producing high-quality canola to supply Canadian and international markets.

"The ECODA model is focused on gaining international market share by linking growers, processors and exporters to the scientific research they need to win on competitiveness, productivity and uniqueness in those markets," said Rory Francis, president of ECODA, in a press release. 

July 17, 2013  By Top Crop Manager