Student and teacher in the greenshouse

Applied Research

Assiniboine Community College has been offering agricultural, horticultural, and environmental programs for more than 25 years. The Faculty of Agriculture and Environment has an excellent reputation as both an agriculture and horticulture training provider, and as a premiere Manitoban applied research institution.

2022-23 Applied Research Report Research Data Management Strategy

The Sustainale Greenhouse located at the North Hill Campus.

Summary of research expertise

Research expertise at the College centres around crop sustainability and productivity for growers; crop pest management; plant and animal protein for human consumption; and clean technologies for the environment.

Research programs are prioritized to respond to industry and regional challenges in food production, and to fill gaps in Manitoba’s applied research sector through innovations in agriculture and food systems sustainability. Initiatives are typically collaborative in nature, bringing together local institutions and industry partners interested improving food self-reliance; minimizing environmental impacts; improving the economic viability of farms and ancillary businesses; contributing to economic growth through increased production; and value-added processing aimed at the global export market and strengthening food systems resilience.

Researchers at Assiniboine are recipients of numerous prestigious grants, some of which include funding from The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (a federal-provincial initiative, Govt. of Canada);Ag Action Manitoba; Employment and Social Development Canada, Agriculture and Agri Food Canada, and the Shastri Indo Canadian Institute, Canada.

These initiatives coalesce in the College’s Field-to-Fork research cluster; an applied research and teaching initiative that sees our food-systems expertise united for the benefit of faculty, student, industry, and community interests. Through a combination of education, research, and outreach, Assiniboine is finding new ways to improve food security at various socio-economic levels and do its part to help build healthier and stronger communities.

Exploring Food Systems

Greenhouse in a Box

This innovative, mini growing unit is the resulting outcome from over 8 years of comparative study between different sustainable passive solar greenhouses by our Assiniboine Community College applied research team. This technology will be a concrete step forward in addressing the lack of available fresh, healthy produce in isolated region as it is a transportable, off-grid, mini growing unit for year-round fruit and vegetable crop production.

Read more about how you can support this project.

Academics and research programs

Dr. Sajjad Rao: crop production methods, food production systems, sustainable greenhouse technologies, integrated pest management.
Dr. Rao’s CV Current Projects

Dr. Poonam Singh: production horticulture, sustainable crop production, traditional food systems, microbial product evaluation, bio control
Dr. Singh’s CV

Dr. Baljeet Singh: crop pest diagnostic and management, soil fertility, soil health, pesticide degradation and efficacy, agronomic research trials, and disease and insect pest survey.
Dr. Singh’s CV