AGRICULTURE & AGRI-VALUE

Saskatchewan is known for its wide open prairie landscape, so it’s no surprise it’s home to more than 40% of Canada’s cultivated farmland. Saskatchewan supplies more than one-third of the world’s exports of durum wheat, we’re the top export of lentils and dried peas and more than half of Canada’s canola is produced here. Being located so close to these raw goods presents many opportunities for processing food, crop and beverages.

The Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre is located in Saskatoon and offers significant expertise in snack extrusion and meat analog development. The centre provides a range of services and works closely with the local and global companies to develop and process products from concept to commercialization.

Saskatchewan is also home to the headquarters of Protein Industries Canada, a new pan-prairie supercluster designed to bring together R&D resources and industry to help develop new products that add value to crops, such as wheat, canola, and lentils, and other pulses

FACTS

• GDP: Agriculture in Saskatchewan contributed $7.05 billion in GDP in 2020
• Exports: In 2020, Saskatchewan exported $16.9 billion in agri-food exports, a 31.0% increase from 2019
• Employment: Saskatchewan’s agriculture industry employs approximately 36,900 people
• Trade: Saskatchewan continues to be the world’s largest exporter in agri-food products, accounting for 60% of total lentils exported globally, 43% of peas, 42% of durum wheat, 22% of mustard seed, 20% of canola meal, 20% of flaxseed, 24% of canola seed, 30% of oats and 65% of canary seeds
• Future investments: Over $1.4 billion in major agriculture investment has been announced in the first half of 2021, propelling the future of urban agriculture and agri-food in the province