February 26, 2024

Canada invests US$7.8 million in swine research to enhance pork sector

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada's Minister of National Revenue, announced a significant investment of up to CAD 10.6 million (US$7.8 million) to Swine Innovation Porc (SIP) through the AgriScience Programme – Clusters Component, Government of Canada reported.

This funding, on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, aims to bolster the Canadian pork sector and propel it to new heights of sustainability, resilience, and growth.

The Cluster initiative, under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, is designed to solidify Canada's position as a global leader in the pork industry.

Through strategic research initiatives, the Cluster aims to address key challenges and opportunities facing the sector. These include improving environmental and climate performance, enhancing productivity and product quality, advancing animal welfare and disease response, combating antimicrobial resistance, and boosting the competitiveness of Canadian pork producers and processors.

SIP has a proven track record of success, having delivered three previous Swine Clusters. Past achievements include innovative feeding strategies to increase productivity, reduced antibiotic use, improved pork quality, advancements in biosecurity for swine transport, and tools for classifying Canadian pork based on quality attributes.

In addition to the Swine Cluster investment, Minister Bibeau announced CAD 1 million (US$739,000) through the Greening Government Fund (GGF) to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). This funding will support the replacement of ventilation systems and controls at the Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre's swine barn with heat recovery fans for higher efficiency.

Furthermore, AAFC will receive CAD 835,000 (US$617,000) from the GGF to replace the current oil-based heating system at the Normandin Research Farm with a pellet biomass heating system, reducing reliance on fossil fuels in line with the Greening Government Strategy's targets to reduce GHG emissions from federal operations.

-      Government of Canada