Canada, a nation often perceived as a land of agricultural bounty, faces a critical vulnerability: its heavy reliance on imported fresh produce. With as much as 80 per cent of its produce sourced internationally, Canada’s short growing season leaves the country exposed to global supply chain disruptions, climate change and geopolitical instability.

In 2022, the Weston Family Foundation recognized the need to strengthen domestic food security.

In response, the Foundation launched the $33-million Homegrown Innovation Challenge to bring together Canadian farmers, growers, academics and entrepreneurs to collaborate on novel solutions for year-round food production in a sustainable and cost-effective way.

As climate change and trade tensions continue to put a strain on our food systems, a University of Guelph researcher says greenhouses and other forms of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) provide a solution by growing food close to where most Canadians live.

Dr. Youbin Zheng is a professor in the School of Environmental Sciences who studies plant production in controlled environments. He says because many greenhouses and indoor food farms use soilless production systems, food can be grown even in urban areas, near the people who will consume it. 

Habiba Bougherara and Lesley Campbell aim to transform sustainable farming in Canada with their self-pollinating raspberry system.

Podcast recorded at Greentech. Moderator Romy Stuik with Eric Gerbrandt of BeriTech Inc. & Lukasz Aleksandrowicz of The Weston Family Foundation.

In 2022, the Weston Family Foundation recognized the need to strengthen domestic food security.

In response, the Foundation launched the $33-million Homegrown Innovation Challenge to bring together Canadian farmers, growers, academics and entrepreneurs to collaborate on novel solutions for year-round food production in a sustainable and cost-effective way.

Innovators harness carbon capture and green energy smart systems to deliver fresh produce year-round

Ontario innovators are developing solutions to bring farming to communities anywhere in the country

Still in its infancy in Quebec, aeroponics could soon enter a new era, judging by the ambitions of Éric and Antoine Deschambault. With the help of Université Laval, father and son are fine-tuning a large-scale, largely automated production system, which will eventually be sold on a turnkey basis to various entrepreneurs.

It may sound like science fiction, but the goal couldn’t be more earthly: cheaper groceries.

Berries are being grown inside a unique tunnel north of London and if the system that utilizes solar energy, lights, heat pumps and water pumps works, it will cheat Canadian winters and climate change and undercut the price of imported fruits and vegetables, said Joshua Pearce, a Western University electrical engineering professor.

A team from the University of Guelph is taking part in a research challenge to grow off-season strawberries in Canada.

Two University of Guelph-led research teams aiming to change the way fresh produce is grown in Canada have entered the second phase of the Homegrown Innovation Challenge, a $33-million challenge prize to grow berries out of season and at scale in Canada. The initiative is funded and delivered by the Weston Family Foundation.