Harper Government invests in Canada’s bioproducts sector

In Canada, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Member of Parliament Mike Wallace announced an investment of $7 million to Bioindustrial Innovation Canada for a first-of-its-kind national bioproducts cluster. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists will work with industry partners on adding value to the agriculture sector and responding to global demand for environmentally-friendly bioproducts. This will be done by exploring the use of food by-products for the manufacture of gums and landscape products, and developing new varieties of wheat, rye and triticale that can be used to produce high-value biochemicals and bioenergy. This investment is made through the Industry-led Research and Development stream of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriInnovation Program, a five-year, up to $698-million initiative under Growing Forward 2.