News Agronomy
Government launches Canada’s first Living Lab in P.E.I.

Prince Edward Island will become home to Living Lab-Atlantic, Canada’s first agricultural Living Lab designed to benefit farmers and Islanders by enhancing soil health, water quality and crop productivity on the Island.

As part of the $10 million investment in the Living Laboratories Initiative, up to $2.4 million will be granted to the East Prince Agri-Environment Association.

The Association will lead on-farm research activities in collaboration with over a dozen partners and local producers, including more than 20 science teams from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The research will focus on developing and evaluating various beneficial management practices to address environmental issues in the province, such as water management, fertilizer use, conservation of soil organic matter, and nutrient losses due to soil erosion.

“This significant investment and new, innovative, collaborative research approach will put P.E.I. farmers at the core of developing and testing best management practices,” said Wayne Easter, Member of Parliament for Malpeque, P.E.I., in a released statement.

The Living Laboratories Initiative is a new collaborative approach to agricultural innovation that brings farmers, scientists and other stakeholders together to co-develop, test and monitor new practices and technologies in a real-life context. The ultimate benefit will be more practical technologies and sustainable farming practices adopted more quickly by Canadian farmers.

P.E.I. is the first site in Canada to have a Living Lab, part of a nation-wide network led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Additional sites will be announced in four regions across Canada: the Eastern Prairies, Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.