THERE was good news last week as federal agriculture minister Andy Mitchell announced his intent to reform Canada’s agriculture research system.
Consultations are planned for later this month with decisions expected by winter or next spring.
Canada’s research budget was slashed during the deficit-cutting times of the 1990s. After several years of cuts, it hit bottom in 1997 when federal spending on research was pegged at $215 million. It has since rebounded to $330 million for 2005-06.
During the 1990s, then agriculture minister Ralph Goodale started the Matching Investment Initiative, which matches private sector investment in agricultural research with federal money.
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But private money didn’t materialize to the extent expected. It accounts for just 17 percent of research funding in Canada today.
Research undertaken by the private sector is often designed with short-term company profit in mind, and understandably so.
Yet that can be at odds with research that could bring long-term benefits to farmers, such as disease-resistant crop varieties, innovative cropping systems or new agronomic practices.
As an example relating to fusarium head blight research, farmers would benefit most through development of fusarium resistant seed varieties.
Corporations are more likely to favour chemical solutions that would also benefit the corporate bottom line.
Because of smaller profit margins in cereal crops, research into improvements on these crops have lagged in recent years. Yet they remain an integral part of crop rotations on the Prairies.
Mitchell also noted research funds today are often consumed by repairs to aging buildings, which diverts money from much-needed new high-tech laboratories and modern equipment.
It is time for Ottawa and the provinces to step back into the void created by past budget cuts.
Research into wheat and barley, still staple crops on the Prairies, has fallen behind crops heavily financed in the United States, such as soybeans and corn. More research is essential if we are to keep pace with our major competitors in international markets.
As well, with 55 percent of research scientists eligible for retirement during the next decade, the federal government can send a strong message to the next generation of professionals that their work will not go unsupported.
After the discussions with industry players are complete, we urge the government to act quickly to restore the lustre to Canada’s research services.
The benefits are many, as a University of Guelph study points out.
In a paper entitled Strategic Policy Issues for Agriculture Research in Canada, it states that money spent on agricultural research delivers a 20:1 return on investment. That’s a healthy return for any business – public or private.
