Most of the seed used by organic farmers in Canada is sourced internationally and bred under conventional, high-input agricultural systems. These varieties are often poorly adapted to Canadian climates and organic production conditions, limiting productivity and resilience in the face of environmental stressors. 

To address climate-related challenges in organic agriculture, researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) will apply environmental genomics tools to accelerate the development of carrot varieties that are better adapted to organic systems and resilient to stress such as drought, heat, and low soil fertility.  This will expand the diversity of carrot varieties available to organic growers in BC, tailored to both current and anticipated climate conditions. Carrots are a strategic focus for this work, as they are the second most valuable vegetable in British Columbia’s organic sector.  

The team will grow trial varieties on farms, sequence their genomes and search for genetic variants thay are associated with climate and soil characteristics unique to the sites from which they were originally collected. They will look for adaptations that make those carrots suited to their local environment and identify alleles that may provide resistance to stresses like drought, heat and low nutrient stress. 

This effort is being carried out in collaboration with the Canadian Organic Vegetable Improvement (CANOVI) program – a national, farmer-led initiative that emphasizes participatory plant breeding and on-farm variety trials. Together, UBC and CANOVI will trial these improved varieties and make them available to organic producers. 

Beyond carrots, this project will serve as a proof of concept for the integration of genomics into decentralized, farmer-participatory breeding programs. It lays the foundation for scaling genomic approaches across other vegetable crops and organic breeding efforts nationwide, enhancing seed sovereignty, climate resilience, and innovation in Canada’s organic agriculture landscape.