News

Dalhousie’s Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC) has once again demonstrated its leadership in organic agriculture in Canada through the August 24, 2018 announcement of Organic Science Cluster 3: Connecting Environmental Sustainability with the Science of Organic Production – 2018-2023 (OSC3).

The OACC has been working in collaboration with the Organic Federation of Canada (OFC) to deliver two Organic Science Clusters over the past ten years and to plan OSC3.

Federal Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay announced $8.3 million of funding for OSC3 under the AgriScience Program of Canadian Agricultural Partnership. That funding coupled with the $4.4 million of matching contributions from 70 industry partners brings the project total to $12.7 million over five years.

Organic Science Cluster 3 provides funding for 28 science activities carried out by 60 scientists and their collaborators at 15 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research stations and 14 university/research institutions across Canada. Over 40 graduate students are expected to be trained.

OSC3 covers a broad range of research including field crops, horticulture, pest management, livestock health and environment. Two Dalhousie University scientists, Dr. Derek Lynch and Dr. Peter Tyedmers will receive funding under OSC3.

The Dr. Andrew Hammermeister, Director and Margaret Graves, Program Manager of the OACC will lead the Science Coordination and Science Communication components of the project and will participate in Cluster management and administration.

“In order to have impact, science must be relevant and have integrity” says Dr. Hammermeister. “The research in OSC3 has been evaluated by 20 organic sector leaders to ensure it addresses sector priorities and has been peer reviewed for scientific merit and integrity by over 100 independent scientists.”

Science Coordination will involve linking OSC3 research activities with each other and other science programs and leading the performance management of the Cluster. The OACC will also lead the national Organic Science Communication program, promoting the science to the entire agricultural community.

Visit: www.dal.ca/oacc/osciii for a press release, OSC3 overview, or to review the research in past Organic Science Clusters.