Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced that the Government of Canada has committed $13 million to combat wheat stem rust, a fungus which may eventually pose a threat to Canada’s wheat production.
“Canada is a world leader in this kind of research,” said Minister Ritz. “Our scientists are doing important work to help the world’s wheat crops, but first and foremost, investments like this one ensure that we have Canadian solutions for Canadian farmers, should the fungus ever reach us here.”
This $13 million investment will be used to develop new varieties of wheat resistant to this fungus. This research by Canadian scientists is at the forefront of international efforts. Canadian research will not only bring Canadian farmers resistant varieties of wheat, it will also lead to a greater understanding of the biology of the fungus, and will make a major contribution to international efforts to combat Ug99 world-wide.
This strain of wheat stem rust, known as Ug99, is not currently a threat to Canadian wheat crops, but the strain has been spreading slowly east across Africa, into Yemen and Sudan. The fungus is expected to reach Egypt, Turkey, the Middle East and India, and scientists agree that it is only a matter of time before Ug99 reaches the crops of North America.
Nobel Prize winner and Chair of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative, Dr. Norman Borlaug, commended Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on making this important investment in wheat rust research, calling it an “important action to protect the wheat crop in North America and worldwide.” He added that the investment “is a major step forward in our efforts to stem the global threat of wheat rust.”
The funding for this research work is from Growing Forward programming, under the Animal and Plant Health Research initiative.
