Glacier FarmMedia—Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) is investing $4.2 million in four Saskatchewan-based agricultural projects.
The four organizations include Venlaw Manufacturing, the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre (Food Centre) and Ag-West Bio.
The announcement was made at the GIFS facility in Saskatoon Aug. 12 by Eleanor Olszewski, federal minister of emergency management and community resilience and the minister responsible for PrairiesCan.
“As you know, our country’s really dealing with a shift in the global economic and political landscapes,” said the minister.
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“And that makes us have to rethink, really, how we do our business. And things like food security and economic resilience for our country have become more important than ever.”
Venlaw Manufacturing will receive $2.1 million under the Business Scale-up and Productivity program. Venlaw is based in Watson, Sask., and has been importing and outfitting custom grain bins since 2020.
“Moving our business from importing and retailing grain bins to manufacturing our own product in Watson, Sask., is an extremely capital-intensive venture,” Venlaw co-owners Rebecca Paszt and Tom Dooley said in the press release.
The funding will enable the business to make the move from import to manufacturing. It will be used to purchase equipment for scaled-up production of a roof roll forming and sidewall line, material handling for finished goods preparation and a finished cold storage building. It also assists with the development of the company’s export market.
For PrairiesCan, the goal of this portion is to reduce imports of manufactured products, focus on Canadian-made and increase use of Canadian steel and local supply chains.
Meanwhile, GIFS will receive $1.6 million to develop a genomic selection-based accelerated breeding program. It’s aim will be to advance breeding capabilities for livestock and crops to increase yield and quality and bring product to market quicker.
For GIFS, this funding builds on the previous $2.5 million it received from PrairiesCan in 2022 for the establishment of Canada’s engineering biology platform focused on food and agriculture.
The Food Centre will receive $420,000 for renovations and equipment to increase capacity for co-packing and incubation space.
Ag-West Bio will receive $20,000 for the 2025 and 2026 Agri-Value Forums to hold the conference, workshops and tours to promote Saskatchewan’s value adding industry.
GIFS, the Food Centre and Ag-West Bio’s funding is part of the Regional Innovation Ecosystems program.
“Agriculture is fundamental and vital to us as human beings, but it’s also an essential economic activity for the Prairies and so for Canada, too,” said Olszewski.
The investments are estimated to create more than 30 new jobs, $7 million in export revenue and $51 million in new commercial revenue growth.
