Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart has announced nearly $1 million in funding to the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) to help drive innovation in the agriculture industry. Stewart made the announcement while touring the PAMI facility in Humboldt.
"Innovation is at the core of Saskatchewan's agriculture industry and fundamental to the growth of this province," Stewart said. "Organizations such as PAMI are vital to our continued competitiveness, productivity and progress to help farmers and ranchers to meet growing world demand for quality agricultural products."
This funding will help PAMI continue to undertake innovative research in machinery technology. A portion of this funding will also go to PAMI's integrated Western Beef Development Centre (WBDC), which conducts beef, feed and forage research.
The 2012-13 provincial budget includes a record $20.4 million agriculture research budget, an increase of 50 per cent since 2007.
Earlier this year, the provincial government announced nearly $480,000 in research project funding for PAMI and the WBDC. Over the last five years, the provincial government has provided $7.2 million in research and operational funding for PAMI and the WBDC.
The announcement came during a special field day for PAMI, as industry representatives gathered for an open forum on innovation and the future research to be undertaken at the facility. PAMI celebrated 35 years of machinery innovation that has contributed to growing Saskatchewan's agri-food exports to a record $10.2 billion in 2011.
"Saskatchewan is a powerhouse of innovation in agriculture and it is by gathering everyone in one place, consulting producers and specialists at the source, that we can keep the research fresh and the industry in this province at the forefront of current methods and breakthroughs," PAMI President and CEO Dave Gullacher said.
Established in 1974, PAMI's operations are cost-shared between the governments of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Today, PAMI is an applied research, development and testing organization serving the agriculture industry of Western Canada and beyond. The Humboldt facility employs 80 staff.
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