Farmers, Innovation Experts Say Canada Needs a Better System to Compete on the World Stage

More regulation isn’t better and won’t make Canada’s agriculture industry successful in the long term. That was the message heard by attendees of Seed Summit 2022.

Canadian farmers are losing their competitiveness with their global counterparts, and the answer is a much-needed overhaul to Canada’s seed regulatory system.

That was the fundamental message at the first session of Seed Summit 2022, held on Feb. 7. The three-hour event brought together stakeholders from across the value chain to talk about why and how Canada’s seed regulatory framework can be changed to make Canada a player on the world agriculture stage.

Setting the stage for the event was an opening talk given by farmer Alanna Koch, who also serves as board chair of the Global Institute for Food Security at the University of Saskatchewan. Koch stressed that Canada’s seed regulatory system is outdated, having been in existence since 1905, with the last major revision happening over 25 years ago in 1996.

“There’s no question the policy and regulatory framework has not kept up with the pace of change and technology on the farm and in our sector. Simply put, the current framework is no longer meeting the needs of our sector. These outdated regulations are impacting our competitiveness and success,” she said.

She went on to note that new varieties are introduced into Canada at least two years later than our American neighbours due to our seed regulatory system.

“If the cost of the introduction and production of improved genetics continues to increase in Canada, companies won’t bring improved genetics to Canadian farmers or produce seed in the U.S. for Canadian markets.”

Too Long Between Updates

A major highlight of the proceedings was a panel discussion moderated by Rick White of the Canadian Canola Growers Association. A common thread running throughout the discussion was the need for a regulatory system that’s more agile and easier to change.

“It concerns me when I hear that regulatory modernization is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. As a farmer, that scares me a little because I think it should be more often than once in a generation. The fact that it’s been 25 years since there’s been major change also makes me wonder how we can change that going forward,” said Mark Brock, co-owner of Shepherd Creek Farms in Ontario.

“As a farmer who grows corn, wheat and soybeans, I actually buy three-quarters of my seed every year. As I look to adapting to climate change, and the need to implement new technologies to do that, I don’t want the system to delay me access to tools I need to help with nitrogen use efficiency, or a system that delays me access to a corn hybrid that can improve that.”

Brock said when he looks to competitors like Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Indiana, he often sees farmers there accessing varieties and other tools that take longer to access in Canada.

“We need to find a way to accommodate everyone’s needs, to simplify the process and provide those tools to farmers. That will benefit everyone in the entire seed system.”

According to Jay Bradshaw, former president of Syngenta Canada, that will only happen if Canada has a predictive regulatory system that convinces seed developers and others to invest in bringing those technologies here.

“We need a predictable regulatory environment so that investors can not only invest their money, but do so in a predictable, science-based fashion, so they can predict potential outcomes. Whatever we create has to create opportunities for Canada and our export markets, because we’re predominantly export-driven,” Bradshaw said.

“Organizations around the world will invest their money where the best return on investment is. We need to convince them Canada is a great place to do business.”

While Stuart Smyth agreed investment by the private sector is crucial, he said Canada is currently punching below its weight in that department. The expert in agri-food innovation based at the University of Saskatchewan noted Canada invests about $800 million a year into ag sector research and development, and about 80% of this comes from public sources.

This imbalance between public and private sector R&D has spilled over into the supply chain realm, he noted.

“So much of that research has involved publicly funded varieties. For a long time, we’ve had a supply push-type of a system where plant breeders develop new varieties, they’re pushed into the pipeline, adopted by farmers, and they move their way down to consumers,” Smyth said.

“As our supply chains are transitioning to be much more end user focused, we need to improve the lines of communication from food processors, farmers and back to plant breeders so that there’s a good dialogue happening between what the farmers and food processors are looking for in terms of new traits. Plant breeders can then have a chance to say, ‘OK, here’s the trade-offs between what you’re looking for and what we’re capable of doing.’”

Both of those parts of the supply chain need a good understanding as to where plant breeding needs to go, and how it can get there, he added.

Need to Pivot

For Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada, it’s key that the seed system of the future be quick to adapt in order to allow the seed sector to pivot fast and provide end users with that they need. With the plant-based protein sector taking off, he said it will be crucial to build the kind of system referenced by Smyth.

“We need a more responsive variety registration system in Canada. That means better linkages throughout the value chain, a better flow of data showing what consumers want and need and then helping push that data back through the value chain to support innovation and make the investments that we need from and R&D perspective,” he said.

With countries around the world poised to overtake Canada in terms of innovation, a modernized regulatory framework is needed to give Canada an edge, said Kristjan Hebert, managing partner of Hebert Grain Ventures in Saskatchewan.

“In Canada, we grow one crop a year. Our ability to analyze our inventory and learn from the data is once a year, right down to the farm level. A lot of other countries are growing up to three crops a year, which gives them a huge advantage over us,” he said.

“Walmart turns over their inventory somewhere between 17 and 25 times a year. Their best products are turning over up to 100 times, and they’re learning from that data. If we continue to take a decade to bring a new variety to market, that hurts us.”

Hebert said what’s needed is a system that considers the needs of the international market with attention also paid to regional requirements, so Canadian growers can feed a hungry supply chain but also work together to ensure the market gets what it needs.

“Our policies need to tie in with international standards so that we don’t limit market access, but so we can also work with each other here at home. If there’s a disease outbreak in Saskatchewan or Manitoba or a new mill gets built in Regina, and they require a whole bunch of a specific kind of wheat, we need to ensure we’re able to grow that wheat and get it to where it needs to go without regulatory roadblocks.”

Without a modernized regulatory framework, doing so will be easier said than done, Smyth noted. He pointed out that the cost of regulation in Canada is reflected through the Global Competitiveness Index, which ranks Canada in 53rd in the world in terms of the burden of government regulation.

“We’re also ranked 61st for innovation efficiency. Investment is going to go to whichever country has streamlined their regulatory requirements for the development of new varieties. Canada is well positioned. We have some of the most highly qualified farmers in the world to produce top-quality, safe products. We have a globally recognized system that is certainly able to attract investment,” Smyth said.

“My worry is that we’ve seen a snowballing of regulations throughout our society and people are getting the idea that more regulation is better, because it keeps us safer. There’s little understanding of what the cost of all those regulations to the innovation system is.”

Seed Summit 2022 will continue with its second session — Understanding and Meeting the Needs of Producers — on Feb. 14. Register here.

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