Food & Ingredients International April 2024

methods, testing them for functionality and
feeding information back to DL Seeds in
order to inform new variety development.
They’ll then supply Three Farmers with fava
ingredients for further functionality testing in
Three Farmers’ line of snack foods.
“Prairie Fava, DL Seeds and Three Farmers
have taken a full value chain approach to
strengthening the fava bean supply chain
and market in Canada—an approach that’s
needed if we’re going to make Canada truly
competitive in the global plant protein space,”
Protein Industries Canada CEO Bill Greuel said.
“By working together across the ecosystem,
crop breeders, ingredient manufacturers and
food processors can capture the growing
global protein opportunity, while providing
consumers with a variety of healthy, highprotein
snack options.”
focus on improving fava in ways that benefit
consumers as well as producers. Prairie Fava
and Three Farmers are tremendous partners
and share our vision for the future of fava.
We are thrilled to be partnered with these
dynamic organizations to innovate and grow
the fava value chain,” DL Seeds General
Manager Chris Anderson said.
“Three Farmers is thrilled to embark on
this journey with our new Protein Industries
Canada consortium, dedicated to amplifying
production and innovation in the realm of fava
beans as a value-added food item. We remain
committed to enhancing the agricultural
landscape of the prairies, continuously adding
value to crops and fostering growth for our
communities,” Three Farmers Founder and
CEO Natasha Vandenhurk said.
The development of each the new varieties,
ingredients and finished products will
strengthen the supply of fava beans in the
Canadian market, helping meet the rising
demand for new sources of sustainable
protein. The project will also enable each
company to scale its product offerings and
operations, including at Three Farmers’
recently opened facility in Saskatoon.
Together, the partners will create new jobs
and new opportunities for Canadians.
A total of $13.2 million has been committed
to the project, with Protein Industries Canada
investing $5.4 million and the partners
investing the remainder.
“Prairie Fava welcomes the opportunity to work
with DL Seeds to expand development of highquality
fava varieties for our grower community.
Three Farmers is an important partner as they
share our corporate goals and passion about
agriculture and healthy food,” Prairie Fava
Co-Founder Hailey Jefferies said. “We are
excited to undertake this new Protein Industries
Canada project to extend our knowledge
about the versality of fava to others to result in
a greater number and range of fava-based
products for consumers that will benefit farmers
and the environment we rely on.”
“Fava represents a tremendous opportunity
for Canada’s food and agriculture sector.
DL Seeds is proud to be part of this project to
APRIL 2024 FOOD & INGREDIENTS INTERNATIONAL
23