Date posted: March 30, 2004

Sowing a new vision for Canada's seed sector

An industry-led, industry-wide assessment sets the stage for a new generation.

Canada's seed sector is also undergoing a major review and strategic planning process. In a separate presentation at the PRRCG meeting, Monty Doyle, Project Manager of the Seed Sector Review, updated the committee on progress with that project, which is expected to wrap up this summer.

"The review is an industry-led, industry-wide assessment of the Canadian seed sector and Canada's seed regulatory environment in the global context," Doyle explained. Among its more specific purposes is a goal to generate consensus on challenges facing the sector and on options for facilitating constructive change, with a key area of focus being the regulatory framework and related systems." The review aims to develop recommendations for the structure of the CFIA's regulatory scheme and for priorities for regulatory change.

A changed world

It's been about 20 years since the seed program of CFIA was thoroughly reviewed, says Doyle. "Since that time, certainly the pressures on that program have changed, but more importantly, the world has changed."

Along with new players in the system, there are important changes in science and technology, in the operations and demands of markets and in the expectations of consumers. "A lot of changes have taken place which have increased the pressures on the system. This puts equal pressure on the capacity of the sector to manage change."

Key result areas

The Seed Sector Review began in early 2003, as a collaborative effort led by the Canadian Seed Growers Association (CSGA), the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA), the Canadian Seed Institute (CSI) and the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC), with funding awarded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The effort was based in part on the CFIA's request for direction from the sector, as part of its variety registration review, and the CFIA has since provided expertise and other in-kind support.

Core direction for the assessment is handled by an 18 member Advisory Committee, representing various components of the sector. Following its initial meeting, the committee identified five key result areas it saw as essential to the future of the seed industry.

Regulatory flexibility and timeliness. "The challenge here is finding the right balance between the dual needs for flexibility and ease of change on the one hand, and the need for consistency of the investment environment on the other," says Doyle.

Positive environment for science and innovation. "This is an industry that runs on science and innovation, whether it's from the private sector or public sector. The review is looking at the environment provided for scientists to share approaches to science innovation, and how to create a supportive, enabling, facilitative environment to encourage investment in this area."

Profitability of the sector. "In order for the sector to work, everybody in the value chain has to be making money, so this key result is concerned with the creation and capture of wealth in the marketplace," says Doyle. "It also concerns things like leveling the playing field for certified seed to compete with common seed, increasing the use of certified seed of all crop kinds, creating higher value commodities, and so on."

Consumer acceptance and confidence. "This concerns the capacity of the sector to continue to meet consumer expectations for health, safety, quality, and world class systems to manage crisis when they occur. Regarding crisis, certainly we're seeing this need in other commodities, with situations such as BSE and Avian flu, etc. This underlines the need for industry sectors to be ready to respond to these types of challenges."

Feedback: rapid response, registration reform

Based on the feedback gathered by the review thus far, a top priority for addressing these concerns is improving the sector's capacity to respond rapidly to new innovations and market signals, says Doyle.

The need to improve the variety registration process has also been a front and centre point of discussion. "It's fair to say there's been a strong consensus of a need for change in this area. In terms of the direction for change, there seems to be a lot of thinking around a more nuanced type of regulatory system that better recognizes special needs of different crops, as well as a focus on a ‘back to the basics' approach with respect to minimum standards."

© 2004 Meristem Information Resources Ltd.
Meristem® is a registered trademark of Meristem Information Resources Ltd. All rights reserved.
Legal Disclaimer