Greenhouse berry production research at Simon Fraser University (SFU) is ramping up thanks to $5 million in new funding over three years from the Weston Family Foundation’s Homegrown Innovation Challenge.
The SFU-led project—developed in collaboration with industry partner BeriTech—is one of four Canadian projects selected to participate in the Challenge’s Scaling Phase. With this support, the team will continue advancing their indoor blueberry trials while branching out to include raspberries and blackberries. The goal: to develop sustainable, scalable, and economically viable indoor growing systems that can support Canadian farmers year-round.
Led by biological sciences professor Jim Mattsson, the team is working to address key challenges in indoor production, from plant genetics to growing conditions.
“Berry plants are less demanding than crops such as tomatoes and peppers, but also have a lower yield. “We aim at identifying the sweet spot between inputs and outputs to provide berries at an affordable price,” explains BeriTech chief science officer Eric Gerbrandt.
“We’re working with raspberry farmers already. They’re eager to extend the season on both sides, and they are very interested in greenhouse technology, but they don’t have the know-how to do it.”
In order to make indoor berry farming viable at scale, the team is developing compact, high-yield berry varieties as well as the technology and growing sytems needed for them to thrive.
“You can buy both raspberry and blueberry plants that have a shorter stature, but they have a fairly low yield,” Mattsson explains. “Certain genes have been knocked out creating a plant that is essentially less healthy, and therefore smaller. But if you knock out the right gene, you can get healthy plant that is smaller.”
Alongside this work on genetics, BeriTech is designing low-cost, modular systems to provide optimal growing conditions at a price point that farmers can afford.
“We’re taking a fairly simple approach,” Mattsson explains, “a turnkey solution based on existing technologies to keep the cost low for farmers.”
This work also contributes to a broader protocol for adapting other crops to indoor production, laying the groundwork for more resilient food systems. With increasing uncertainty due to climate change and global supply chain disruptions, increasing Canada’s capacity to grow food year-round, and decrease our dependence on imports.
While delivering high yields is important, Mattsson believes Canadians shouldn’t have to compromise on flavour or nutrition and the team is also working on improving the flavour content of the berries.
“Flavour boils down to two things: sugar content, and then some flavouring compounds,” he explains. “We're going to try to get higher amounts of raspberry ketone, the flavouring agent that provides a specific raspberry flavour. We're aiming for that taste you remember from childhood, the way berries should taste.”
Delivered over six years and funded by the Weston Family Foundation, the $33 million Homegrown Innovation Challenge supports the development of tools and technologies to enable Canadian producers to grow berries out of season, sustainably and competitively. We believe that by accomplishing out-of-season berry production, we can also unlock solutions for myriad other fruits and vegetables.