UBC researchers leading four projects awarded $21.5m to develop solutions towards sustainable agriculture

August 29, 2024

Building research partnerships among Canadian post-secondary researchers and farmers, producers, and private, public and not-for-profit organizations is key to tackle climate change and build resilience in the agriculture sector. New research partnerships will initiate and accelerate the development of solutions to support a sustainable agriculture and agri-food sector in a net-zero economy.

As part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to meet climate mitigation targets, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced an $87.5 million investment over four years to support 16 collaborative research projects involving 165 researchers from 30 different academic institutions across Canada, that will contribute to a sustainable, profitable and resilient agriculture and agri-food sector.

The research teams and projects are supported by grants awarded through the NSERC-SSHRC Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative (SARI), a joint initiative between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

Four projects led by UBC researchers were awarded a combined $21.5 million.

UBC researchers are also co-applicants on a further three funded projects led by colleagues at other institutions.

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Projects led by UBC Researchers

Development of a sensor network for sustainable agriculture

Applicant: Fariborz Taghipour (Chemical and Biological Engineering)
Partner Organizations: AUG Signals Ltd; National Research Council Canada; Smart-Agrobotic Technologies Inc.
UBC Co-Applicants: Mark MacLachlan (Chemistry); Sean Smukler (Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Other Co-applicants: Greg Evans (University of Toronto); Laura Minet (University of Victoria)
Collaborators: Ted Mao (Evercloak); Dimos Poulikakos (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich)
Award: $2,640,000

Project Summary

To meet its ambitious climate mitigation targets, it is critical for Canada to invest in sustainable agriculture. The key elements of sustainable agriculture are a) precision farming for efficient nutrient use, which results in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) production, and b) monitoring GHG emissions, which provides information on the effectiveness of the mitigation actions. In this research project, we will develop new technologies and tools that promote the fundamental elements of sustainable agriculture. We will design, fabricate, and field-test a sensing device to a) monitor nitrogen, a key soil nutrient, to enable precision agriculture, which, in turn, will result in reducing GHG emissions, and b) evaluate GHG emissions through direct measuring, to quantify the impact of the shift to precision nutrient control. Our approach involves applying several emerging technological innovations, including novel nanomaterial synthesize, new sensing platform design, and machine learning techniques, to create arrays of sensing nodes that are activated by UV-LEDs, resulting in a miniaturized and inexpensive multifunctional sensor. The sensor will be used to measure the spatial and temporal variations of nitrogen content and GHG emissions in several agricultural fields, enabling us to evaluate the sensor's applicability in real-world situations.It will ultimately be possible to deploy our sensors in agricultural fields for real-time mapping of nitrogen and GHG emissions. This would not only streamline informed decision-making regarding the use of fertilizers in each area but also promote sustainable farming practices. Providing high-resolution localized information on plant-available nitrogen and GHG emissions will be critical for agricultural producers to identify emission sources and evaluate mitigation actions when testing and implementing innovations and policies to optimize their operations and reduce emissions. We have developed a comprehensive strategy to translate the research results into application by building a strong coalition at the key levels of academia, government, international research institutions, and industry, with each organization bringing complementary expertise to the project.

Novel and Adaptive Rumen Microbiome targeted solutions for GHG mitigation in cattle

Applicant: Leluo Guan (Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Partner Organizations: The University of British Columbia; University of Alberta; University of Guelph; Semex Alliance; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
UBC Co-applicants: Daniel Weary (Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Ronaldo Cerri (Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Other Co-applicants: Katharine Wood (University of Guelph); Angela Canovas (University of Guelph); Hooman Derakhshani (University of Manitoba); Henry An (University of Alberta)
Collaborators: David Kitts (Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Liang Li (University of Alberta); Tim McAllister (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada); Marina von Keyserlingk (Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Changxi Li (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada); Diego Morgavi (Inst National de la Rech. Agronomique); Roderick Mackie (U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Carolyn Fitzsimmons (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada); Christine Baes (University of Guelph); Robert Gruninger (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada); Filippo Miglior (Lactanet); Gregory Penner (University of Saskatchewan); Siyun Wang (Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Eveline Ibeagha-Awemu (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada); Jiarui Ding (Computer Science); Renée Petri (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada); Gleise Medeiros Da Silva (University of Alberta); Stephanie Terry (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada); Francesca Malchiodi (Semex Alliance); Rahat Zaheer (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada); Satoshi Koike (Hokkaido University); Narayan Apurva (Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, UBCO); Xiaoli Fan (University of Alberta); Kees Plaizier (University of Manitoba)
Award: $7,899,200

Project Summary

Methane (CH4) is the second most important greenhouse gases (GHG) contributing to climate change and the most significant source of emissions from ruminants in the Canadian agriculture sector. Beef and dairy are key sectors of Canada's livestock industry and combined contribute $50 billion annually to Canada's GDP. The GHG footprint of Canadian beef (2.6%) and dairy (0.5%) production represents 3.1% of Canada's overall emissions. The Canadian beef industry has a goal of reducing GHG emissions by 33 % by 2030 and the Dairy Farmers of Canada are targeting carbon neutrality by 2050. Reducing enteric CH4 emissions in cattle is imperative to achieve these goals. Enteric CH4 is produced by microbial fermentation and methanogenesis in the rumen. This project will develop novel tools targeting rumen CH4 production to reduce emissions and improve feed efficiency in beef and dairy cattle by 1) using metagenomics and machine learning to determine the key causal members/markers of the rumen microbiome for CH4 emissions; 2) developing novel microbiome solutions to reduce GHG emissions by manipulation of the key members of the rumen microbiome; 3) implement novel Analytical Solutions for precision management of the interplay between the rumen microbiome, host genetics, and nutrition; 4) facilitating the adoption of new technologies through an assessment of the Canadian and international regulatory environments and economic incentives such as carbon offsets on the social impact of CH4 reductions along the Canadian beef and dairy value chains. Collectively, the proposed targeted solutions will lead to novel breeding and dietary strategies and targeted precision management to lower CH4 emissions without reducing the productivity of Canadian dairy and beef cattle, thereby improving the sustainability and production efficiency of cattle. The approaches outlined in this proposal will reduce Canada's CH4 emissions from cattle by 35 to 40%, resulting in important first steps towards sustainable Canadian beef and dairy industries and enabling them to achieve contributions to Canada's climate change commitments that will support Canada's goal of a net-zero economy by 2050.

Toward self-sufficiency in apiculture for food security in a net-zero economy

Applicant: Leonard Foster (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology / Michael Smith Laboratories)
Partner Organizations: Technology Transfer Program
Co-applicants: Shelley Hoover (University of Lethbridge); Pierre Giovenazzo (Université Laval)
Collaborators: Stephen Pernal (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)
Award: $4,498,895

Project Summary

PERCS: Perennial Plant Restoration for Carbon Sequestration in Canadian Agricultural Landscapes

Applicant: Risa Sargent (Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Partner Organizations: The University of British Columbia; Simon Fraser University; BC Blueberry Council; Government of British Columbia; Rivershed Society of British Columbia; University of the Fraser Valley; BC Investment Agriculture Foundation; Delta Farmland & Wildlife Trust; Nature United; Farmers for Climate Solutions
UBC Co-applicants: Jeanine Rhemtulla (Forest and Conservation Sciences ); Matthew Mitchell (Forest Resources Management / Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Claire Kremen (Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability / Zoology); Sean Smukler (Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Hannah Wittman (Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability / Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Juli Carrillo (Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Naomi Schwartz (Geography); Jennifer Grenz (Forest Resources Management / Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Joséphine Gantois (Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability / Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Frederik Noack (Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Juliet Lu (Forest Resources Management / School for Public Policy and Global Affairs); Jonathan Proctor (Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Other Co-applicants: Chelsea Little (Simon Fraser University); Renee Prasad (University of the Fraser Valley); Alexandra Lyon (Kwantlen Polytechnic University)
Collaborators: Lenore Fahrig (Carleton University); Marney Isaac (University of Toronto); Elena Bennett (McGill University); Teja Tscharntke (Georg-August-Univ. Gottingen); Lucas Garibaldi (Universidad Nacional de Río Negro); Andrew Feldman (National Aeronautics & Space Admin); Ilyas Siddique (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina)
Award: $6,509,527

Project Summary

Approximately 30% of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions (GHG's) originate in agriculture. At the same time, agricultural land management holds unique opportunities to mitigate GHG emissions through carbon sequestration. The 2023 IPCC report identified carbon sequestration in agricultural landscapes as a promising option for GHG mitigation, especially over longer time scales. Perennial plantings, as windbreaks, hedgerows, riparian cover and woodlands, and as ground cover in field margins and between rows, have the potential to increase long term carbon sequestration and storage in Canadian agricultural landscapes. In addition to their role as carbon sinks, perennial plantings offer a suite of important ecological and socio-economic co-benefits. Hedgerows co-designed with Indigenous ecological knowledge keepers could have the additional co-benefit of supporting Indigenous food systems and reconciliation. However, research is needed to better understand how the species composition, configuration and location influence the benefits of perennial plantings, including their ability to sequester carbon over long time scales. In our novel research program, we test the hypothesis that ecological, social and economic benefits of plantings accrue faster by prioritizing landscape connectivity of new and existing perennial plantings in an agricultural region, for example through shared knowledge, community acceptance, enhanced marketing opportunities, savings on pesticides and managed pollinator costs, and health benefits from reduced agrochemical use. In partnership with 7 non-profit and governmental organizations, and with researchers across 4 Canadian universities, our unique inter-disciplinary research program will study the development and outcomes of perennial planting networks to increase national agricultural carbon sequestration and co-benefits through integrated networks of multi-farm perennial planting schemes. Our work will examine the ways that co-operation and co-benefits within and among communities can accelerate the adoption of perennial planting networks, offering a critical tool to rapidly transform the Canadian agricultural landscape towards a more sustainable future.

Additional projects involving UBC researchers

Development of Transformative Precision Agriculture Technologies to Ensure Food Security and Mitigate Climate Change: A State-of-the-art Approach to Promote Sustainable Agriculture
Applicant: Aitazaz Ahsan Farooque (University of Prince Edward Island)
UBC Co-applicant: Rehan Sadiq (School of Engineering, UBCO)
The Canadian Soil Data Portal - Transforming Canada's Soil Data Infrastructure to Facilitate GHG Reductions and Climate Change Mitigation
Applicant: Brandon Heung (Dalhousie University)
UBC Co-applicants: Maja Krzic (Forest and Conservation Sciences / Faculty of Land and Food Systems); Sean Smukler (Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
CANN2ONET-A Canadian Nitrous Oxide Collaboration Network to Meet Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets
Applicant: Claudia Wagner-Riddle (University of Guelph)
UBC Co-applicant: Andrew Black (Faculty of Land and Food Systems)

See all funded projects

UBC researchers leading four projects awarded $21.5m to develop solutions towards sustainable agriculture

Projects led by UBC Researchers

Development of a sensor network for sustainable agriculture

Project Summary

Novel and Adaptive Rumen Microbiome targeted solutions for GHG mitigation in cattle

Project Summary

Toward self-sufficiency in apiculture for food security in a net-zero economy

Project Summary

PERCS: Perennial Plant Restoration for Carbon Sequestration in Canadian Agricultural Landscapes

Project Summary

Additional projects involving UBC researchers

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UBC researchers leading four projects awarded $21.5m to develop solutions towards sustainable agriculture

Projects led by UBC Researchers

Development of a sensor network for sustainable agriculture

Project Summary

Novel and Adaptive Rumen Microbiome targeted solutions for GHG mitigation in cattle

Project Summary

Toward self-sufficiency in apiculture for food security in a net-zero economy

Project Summary

PERCS: Perennial Plant Restoration for Carbon Sequestration in Canadian Agricultural Landscapes

Project Summary

Additional projects involving UBC researchers

First Nations land acknowledegement

Quick Access

Researcher Resources

Portfolio Links

Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation