Swine research produces economic benefits

In 2008, Agriculture Canada announced a new five-year strategic agricultural research funding program, known as Growing Forward.

In 2010, Swine Innovation Porc (SIP) was established to facilitate and co-ordinate swine research across Canada.

Agriculture Canada has since renewed three more five-year agricultural research funding frameworks (2013-17, 2018-22 and 2023-28).

SIP commissioned an economic impact study based on swine research investments undertaken between 2010 and 2023. During this period, SIP invested nearly $50 million, with another $20 million planned for 2024-28.

During 2010-23, 36 per cent of the funds were invested in animal health, 24 per cent in nutrition, 21 per cent in environmental projects, 11 per cent in pork quality and eight per cent in animal welfare.

SIP research investments generated about $20 million in yield enhancing improvements for farmers and $47 million in increased market for pork, yielding a 30 per cent ROI on the investment portfolio.

In macroeconomic terms, the investments and related innovations between 2010-23 contributed $225 million to Canadian gross domestic product, $85 million attributed to the research effort, $42 million to efficiency improvements at the farm level and $101 million from increased demand for pork.

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Farmers are the main benefactors of SIP’s strategic investments.

In aggregate, farmers and others in the supply chain invested $12.9 million in 2010-23 and realized about $67 million in direct benefits in terms of higher yield and higher sales, delivering a five to one ratio of benefits to costs.

The average pork producer invested about $1,700 over the period under study and realized about $8,800 in return.

Since 2010, swine research in Canada has improved animal genetics, allowing for greater feed-use efficiencies so that pigs gain more weight for every pound of feed consumed.

This reduces the overall amount of feed and water required to get a pig to market weight, as well as reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions required to produce the feed for each pig.

Improving disease resistance in swine also provides significant sustainability benefits.

Swine are like humans when they get sick: they eat less and often require medicine to get better.

Research has focused on increasing resistance to respiratory disease, which works to improve animal welfare, reducing the number of pigs that get sick and allowing them to reach their market weights more quickly.

As well, research has been conducted on how to reduce the environmental impacts of swine production. This involves, for example, ways to better use the manure such as an input for bio-energy digesters.

Swine production is a key part of Canada’s agriculture, accounting for more than $5 billion in export value annually.

Given the growing value of pork exports and the estimated 30 per net return on investment, there is a case to be made for further research investments.

In addition to improving yield and generally improving quality, there are real needs to respond to rising global disease threats, notably the endemic threat from African swine fever.

Canadian consumers benefit from increased pork production because investments to improve productivity help to provide consumers with relatively lower priced protein options.

The $50 million invested by SIP from 2010-23 has provided economic benefits along the entire pork supply chain, from academic researchers to farmers to consumers.

Continued support for the Canadian swine sector should be a cornerstone of future funding frameworks.

Stuart Smyth is a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Saskatchewan. This op ed first appeared on the SAIFood website. It has been edited for length.