Building prosperity by ensuring food security

A new agriculture solution for fighting crop pathogens

Every year around the world, up to 30 percent of crops are lost due to preventable diseases. That’s often because farmers are unable to test for plant pathogens accurately and inexpensively before it’s too late. 

Not only does this put agricultural livelihoods at risk, but it also threatens food security for billions of people. Tayab Soomro’s solution is an easy-to-use and inexpensive system for fast disease detection. 

We received some great government grants to get started, whereas our counterparts in other parts of the world lack this initial support.

Early warning technology that helps farmers prosper 

Soomro’s company, Saskatoon-based PathoScan, developed a portable “PathoBox” system, which is about the size of a shoebox and uses advanced DNA amplification and AI to detect crop diseases on-site. PathoBox lets farmers test any crop and get lab-grade results in as little as 30 minutes, a dramatic improvement over traditional tests that must be sent to a lab and can take up to two weeks. 

“For some fungal pathogens, like sclerotinia in canola, even three days is too long to wait for treatment,” says Soomro. Also known as white mould, sclerotinia is the most destructive canola disease in Canada.

The company’s roots trace back to March 2023, and it gained early momentum through field trials — over 100 tests were conducted by summer 2025 — with positive results in both open fields and greenhouse environments. 

In March 2024, PathoScan launched its formal field trial plan, reaching out to farmers across Saskatchewan. The company continues to fine-tune product messaging, plans to expand trial regions across Canada, and is seeking advisors to scale production and enter new markets.

Turning lab-based learning into marketable skills

Soomro’s inspiration stems in part from his work at Dalhousie University’s Institute for Comparative Genomics during his master’s degree in agricultural science. At the CFI-funded lab, he analyzed apples from an orchard the lab had grown over the previous decade to determine the genetics behind the fruits’ desirable characteristics, all with an eye toward commercializing those traits. 

“It really helped me home in on entrepreneurial skills, like pitching and business planning,” he says. 

Soomro says while Canada excels at the agricultural science behind improving crop yields, it must work harder at taking the science from the lab to the field. His company, which is on the cusp of commercializing its technology, aims to do that and more. Describing PathoScan as a data company for farmers, Soomro says it also has plans to offer better information on disease progression by integrating data on weather patterns such as drought, hail and flooding and to suggest solutions to fortify crops against such calamities. 

Return to the Building prosperity main page