Invest in agricultural research to support discovery science and innovation.

What success looks like

Advance research in agricultural genomics, digitize nearly six million specimens by 2022 and invest in discovery research in priority areas.

Government's narrative on progress

Starting in 2016, the government has been working to accelerate the DNA analysis, data capture and imaging of specimens from its biological collections, completing the digitization of nearly six million specimens. In addition, Budget 2017 announced $70 million to further support agricultural discovery science and innovation, with a focus on addressing emerging priorities such as climate change and soil and water conservation. Of this $70 million investment, $44 million is dedicated to hiring the next generation of federal research scientists and science professionals and equipping them with the state-of-the-art tools they need to advance agricultural research, including environmental sampling equipment and analytical instruments. The government also launched a new Living Laboratories Initiative, which includes $10 million to support collaborative research projects with external partners. It is an integrated approach that brings farmers, scientists and other stakeholders together to co-develop, test and monitor new practices and technologies on farms. The result will be more practical technologies and sustainable farming practices that are adopted more quickly by Canadian farmers. In the same spirit of collaboration, the remaining $16 million of the $70 million is earmarked to fund collaborative federal research projects focused on priority areas affecting the agriculture sector, such as environmental issues.

Note: this is the government's own description, not an independent assessment.