Canadian Agri-Science Clusters Initiative
Canola/Flax Science Cluster 2009-2013
The Canola/Flax Science Cluster is part of the Canadian Agri-Science Clusters initiative of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). The CCC is one of the industry-lead organizations mobilizing the scientific and technical resources needed to support innovation and competitiveness in its sector. The innovative strategies developed as part of this Cluster will drive the canola industry forward in meeting its “Growing Great 2015” objectives.
Under the leadership of CCC, research projects were proposed by the Canadian canola science community to the Canola/Flax Science Cluster. Selected projects are funded through the ~$20M fund - $14.5M from federal government (AAFC) and $5.7M from the canola industry (CCC).
The CCC’s core funding is a voluntary levy paid by Canadian canola processors and exporters: Richardson, A.C. Toepfer, Viterra, Louis Dreyfus and Cargill, the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, SaskCanola, Manitoba Canola Growers Association, BASF, Bayer CropSciences, Dow AgroSciences, DL Seeds, Monsanto Canada, Pioneer Hi-Bred and Syngenta Crop Protection.
The industry funding for the canola portion of the Science Cluster is derived from CCC’s core funds, as well as additional project funding provided by SaskCanola, Manitoba Canola Growers Association, Alberta Canola Producers Commission and Dow AgroSciences. The industry funding for the flax portion of the Science Cluster is derived from the Flax Council of Canada.
Agreements
The CCC has entered into both a Contribution Agreement (CA) and Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRDA) with AAFC for the duration of the program (ending March 31, 2013). The CA encompasses activities that relate directly to those third-party researchers and the CRDA reflects the activities that are supported by AAFC researchers.
For researchers under CA (Vote 10), CCC has signed individual agreements with their institutes to facilitate the funding management. For researchers under CRDA (Vote 1), funding is directly managed by AAFC.
Industry stakeholders alongside academic experts identified and prioritized the key opportunities that needed to be addressed in the Canola/Flax Science Cluster. The areas of investigation are:
Please click here for a list of research categories.
The CCC is dedicated to assisting researchers in managing their research programs in the Canola/Flax Science Cluster. Please click here for instructions on Reporting, Financial Claims and CCC contacts.
The Canola/Flax Canadian Agri-Science Cluster Initiative is a partnership between the Canola Council of Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to sponsor research and technology transfer that supports canola/flax in three key areas: oil nutrition, meal nutrition and crop production. This will enable the industry to grow and provide canola/flax growers and the entire value chain with a profitable and sustainable future.