Saskatchewan Agriculture has a new vision for the province’s farming sector that is “big, green and healthy,” but due to poor financial health the government has few big, green dollars to start the plan.
Newly appointed deputy agriculture minister Doug Matthies told a group of University of Saskatchewan researchers that the days of the $90 million Agri-Food Innovation Fund and the $20 million Agri-Food Equity Fund are long gone.
“I have got $300,000 for new generation co-ops and that’s about it.”
His department “took it on the chin” in the latest budget, having to divert $34 million it was planning to spend on research and development into commitments with the new agricultural policy framework.
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About 80 percent of the department’s budget will fund the crop insurance and Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization programs, five percent will go toward administrative costs and 15 percent will be left over for the “fun and cool stuff” associated with innovation.
Most of that 15 percent is earmarked for staff salaries, so there will be little new capital available for the research community.
“We’re looking for partners who have cash,” said Matthies.
The tough budget has forced Saskatchewan Agriculture to partially shift resources from primary agriculture to processing.
Assistant deputy agriculture minister Maryellen Carlson said there is a long-standing gap in the processing sector that must be addressed.
“We have been talking about (value-added) for some period of time and change didn’t happen to the degree that we hoped.”
The agricultural manufacturing framework, nicknamed “big, green and healthy,” is a new strategy designed to address that shortcoming.
Department officials say it is feasible to increase Saskatchewan’s agricultural manufacturing sector to $16 billion in 2025 from $3 billion in 2003. The value of primary production will rise to $15 billion from $6 billion over the same period.
Carlson said the belief that investment from big firms is bad must change.
“If you’re in a commodity business, scale matters. There are certain portions of our industry where big is going to be the most competitive model.”
Those areas include meat processing where four firms slaughter and process 85 percent of the product that hits Canadian store shelves. It also includes the pulse, flax and canola processing industries.
The green portion of the plan fits in with the emerging bioproducts industry that turns crops into industrial products.
“In terms of the technology that’s in the most ready state, in terms of the firms that we have showing interest, energy is the first wave,” said Carlson.
The other area that will receive more attention is functional foods designed to promote healthier living.
One researcher who listened to Carlson’s presentation said the province’s taxation policies will deter big firms from establishing in Saskatchewan.
Another researcher at the meeting said adequate resources are necesssary to generate results, but the department has no capital.
Carlson said although there is little new money, ongoing funding is in place, some of which will be reallocated.
