Manitoba Harvest, part of Fresh Hemp Foods Ltd., is partnering with a group of companies to develop improved hemp and pea varieties and to create a hemp-pea flour blend.
Winkler-based Pulse Genetics will also collaborate on the project.
“The advancements will dramatically increase the potential for hemp usage in the growing plant-based protein movement,” Manitoba Harvest said in a July 27 news release.
Why it matters: Pea and hemp growers may hope to see new, protein-driven, varieties if a new project announced by Protein Industries Canada gets its way.
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The group includes NRGene Canada — which uses AI-based genomic tools to accelerate breeding programs — ag tech platform Farmers Business Network Canada and Pulse Genetics.
“As a newcomer to the plant-breeding community, Pulse Genetics is excited to be a part of this strategic partnership which combines expertise to develop innovative new products for Canada’s fast-growing plant-based protein industry,” Pulse Genetics owner Pete Giesbrecht said in a news release.
The new varieties will be targeted for food and ingredient processing, with a focus on properties like increased protein and improved texture, according to Protein Industries Canada.
The industry-led non-profit represents Canada’s protein ‘supercluster,’ one of five such groups announced by the federal government in 2017 and mandated to spur collaborations and projects that develop and promote their industry.
Pulse Genetics will work to improve Canada’s pea sector, while Farmers Business Network Canada will focus on the country’s growing hemp sector. Both will utilize NRGene’s genomics technology in their efforts to develop new varieties, Protein Industries Canada said.
New varieties won’t be commercialized until the project is complete, but Manitoba Harvest will work with existing varieties to develop a pea-hemp flour blend that will become a base formulation to be improved when new varieties become available.
NRGene, Farmers Business Network Canada, Pulse Genetics and Manitoba Harvest are together investing $3.3 million into the project, with Protein Industries Canada investing an additional $1.8 million. The total project investment is $5.1 million.
The project announcement is Protein Industries Canada’s 24th.
Manitoba farmers seeded just over 11,000 acres of hemp in 2020 plus about 1,000 organic hemp acres, according to MASC data. Acreage was similar in 2019. This is down from a height of over 27,000 seeded acres in 2017.
