Storage losses in all kinds of agri food crops are substantial - are they largely preventable? WIth Dr Chandra Singh

At least one-fifth of all food produced in Canada is (avoidably) lost or wasted during harvesting, packing, storing, handling, transporting and processing. Lethbridge Polytechnic received grants in 2021 from different sources to study the issues and the speaker will provide evidence of promising results. Lethbridge Polytechnic was also on the receiving end of part of a large grant this year that will be applied towards using cellular agricultural research to improve food security across Canada well into the future. In particular, sugar beets will be used as an energy source for cell culture medium to facilitate this research to possibly diversify the long-term market for sugar beet producers in southern Alberta. Speaker: Dr. Chandra Singh Chandra Singh joined Lethbridge Polytechnic’s Centre for Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CARIE) in 2019 as the first Applied Research Chair in Agricultural Engineering and Technology. As a Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) funded research chair, Singh and his team focuses on minimizing post-harvest losses, adding value to local crops and developing products and technological solutions to meet the needs of Alberta’s agri-food industry. Raised on a small family farm in India, Singh completed an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Engineering, a master’s degree in Postharvest Engineering and a PhD in Biosystems Engineering, giving him a rare and sought-after combination of expertise in both equipment and technologies, as well as an understanding of the science of agriculture. Before arriving at Lethbridge Polytechnic, he was an Associate Professor of Engineering at the University of Southern Australia jointly co-appointed by Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Australia’s national research organization. In November 2023, Singh appeared virtually before the Senate’s Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry (AGFO) to share his expertise on grain drying and grain storage as it pertains to Bill C-234.