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Success Stories - NRC-PBI and Dow AgroSciences Canada renew strategic alliance in Plant Biotechnology
June 4, 2009 — Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
The NRC-Plant Biotechnology Institute and Dow AgroSciences Canada Inc will continue their research of canola. This research agreement, with contributions by the parties valued at $10 million over five years, builds on a previous ten-year, $20 million agreement.
The continuation of this strategic alliance ensures a cost-shared approach for the development of new agricultural technologies and provides a clear path to move these new technologies from the lab to the marketplace. It will strengthen the critical research mass in Saskatchewan and support the growth of Saskatoon’s scientific infrastructure to develop Canada’s multi-billion dollar Canola industry.
The research goals of the NRC-DOW alliance include diversifying oilseed crops to produce new oils for industrial application and others with health benefits. Researchers will also work to improve canola meal for use in the animal feed industry. The agreement also includes research into the development of crops with increased nutrients and greater yields, which has the potential to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits to the canola industry and Canadian economy.
The NRC-DOW partnership was initiated in 1999 with a five-year agreement for research into canola. This first collaboration led to significant discoveries, including the development of canola plants which produce higher levels of oil and healthier canola meal for livestock. This agreement was renewed in 2004.
Establishing the NRC-DOW alliance was an obvious step to link NRC-PBI’s expertise to Dow AgroSciences’ commercial interests and is an unprecedented collaboration between industry and government to support Canada’s agriculture industry. The alliance is an example of a private and public framework that allows both parties to invest and share in the significant costs of completing and commercializing biotechnology research in Canada.
