With the constant threat of pests, diseases, weeds and other environmental challenges, fruit and vegetable growers rely on innovative, sustainable solutions to protect their crops, while minimizing the impact on the environment and human health.
Keeping crops protected benefits all Canadians and safeguards our food security. It’s about reducing food waste, improving access, affordability, and reliability of the supply of healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables year-round.
New and advanced crop protection products play a major role in keeping crops healthy, while at the same time increasing safety for humans and reducing our impact on the environment.
Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) oversees the regulation of crop protection products in Canada to ensure they pose minimal risk to human health and the environment. Grounded in science-based decision making, PMRA reviews vast amounts of data and information to determine if products meet our stringent standards for use in Canada.
As many traditional crop products have become phased out over time by PMRA, it becomes crucial for growers to access new, thoroughly tested products meeting modern safety standards and effectively addressing pests, diseases, and weeds.
At the forefront of researching and innovating these crop protection solutions is Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Pest Management Centre (PMC). Established in 2003, the PMC plays a pivotal role in advancing sustainable crop protection through research, product trials, promotion of integrated pest management, exploration of alternative pest control methods, and collaboration with industry stakeholders, including the farming community.
The PMC supports integrated pest management, for example, as a key strategy in helping farmers protect their crops in an efficient and responsible way. Integrated pest management uses a mix of strategies to manage and control pests and diseases, like beneficial insects, biological controls, rotating crops, and maintaining proper plant health through irrigation and fertilization, in addition to other pest control products.
“The work being done at the PMC is incredibly important to the future of sustainable agriculture in Canada,” mentions Chris Duyvelshoff, crop protection advisor at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA). “Rather than relying solely on traditional synthetic products, we’re seeing the power of applying other approaches too, like integrating biologically derived solutions with conventional products which can be equally effective, but also reduce our environmental footprint.”
The research conducted at the PMC not only advances these practices but also promotes their adaptation among farmers across the country.
The Minor Use Program (MUP) is another crucial initiative by the PMC, designed to address the unique pest management needs of farmers who grow minor crops, like most fruits and vegetables. Unlike major crops such as wheat and corn, minor crops are high value but grown on a smaller scale because of soil and climate limitations.
Canada’s stringent but lengthy and financially intensive regulatory approval process for new crop protection products means it is simply often not profitable for manufacturers to register products for crops that are only grown on a small scale. This can create significant challenges for fruit and vegetable growers who are looking for products to protect their crops from pests and disease.
Thankfully PMC bridges this gap through the MUP by funding research to address the data needs for PMRA to register new products on fruit and vegetables. Each year, growers of minor use crops can prioritize pest and disease problems they would like MUP to research in hopes of finding a new suitable solution.
The challenge today is PMC’s capacity is in decline. Operating on the same fixed budget for over a decade, PMC’s ability to take on new projects has dropped by 25% in the last few years. Just as new and emerging pests and diseases threaten fruit and vegetable crops, particularly as the climate continues to change. For example, the PMC received over 6,000 suggestions from Canadians for research in 2023 alone, yet its annual funding will cover working on about 30 of them – down from undertaking 40 not long ago.
“The federal government must revisit PMC’s budget to reflect the growing demand for research and development in sustainable crop protection,” continues Duyvelshoff. “This investment should consider the increasing complexity of pest management challenges faced by growers and the greater need for sustainable solutions in the fields and greenhouses of tomorrow.”
Through sustained investment and collaboration, the PMC can continue its mission of advancing sustainable agriculture and supporting adaptation to the changing climate. This means Canadians will continue to have access to as much fresh, locally grown food as possible, while also contributing to the broader goal of ensuring food security and affordability for all.
“As farmers, we take pride in being able to provide Canadians with a safe and secure food supply and are committed to growing that food as sustainably as possible,” says Brian Rideout, an apple grower and chair of the OFVGA crop protection committee. “The PMC’s efforts are integral to maintaining this commitment.”
To learn more about sustainability, crop protection, local food production and the fruit and vegetable sector, visit ofvga.org/sustainability.
