KINGSTON, ONTARIO, CANADA — The government of Canada awarded up to C$2.3 million over four years to Performance Plants Inc. (PPI) to develop change-resistant, high-yielding soybeans.

The award is through the AgriScience Program–Projects Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.  

PPI’s objective is to create soybean varieties that are more heat and drought tolerant, herbicide resistant, use water efficiently and sequester carbon into the soil.

PPI continues to further new soybean trait and genome development to ensure they have the best characteristics to withstand harsh climates.

“Soybean is the third largest field crop in Canada, and the foundation to increase its growth acreage and productivity lays squarely on the genetic improvement of the seeds,” said Yafan Huang, chief executive officer of PPI. “We are grateful to have Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s further support through its AgriScience Program to complete the development of climate-resilient, high-yielding soybean with enhanced carbon sequestration. Successful introduction of Performance Plants’ validated technologies to this crop will help to secure and grow this important Canadian industry amid increasingly challenging climate conditions.”

PPI received over C$2 million in funding under the previous framework, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

PPI is an agricultural biotechnology company incorporated in 1995. The company has developed key technologies to achieve higher and more consistent crop yields through improved heat tolerance, drought tolerance and reduced water requirements.