“You can see in the report there that Alberts Grains got an exceptionally good rate of return on the investments they’ve made in terms of allocating check-off dollars. That said, one of the highlights that came out of that report is how research today is really a collaborative, effort,” he says.
“You’ve got Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) putting in money, the universities, and then that’s being matched by entities like Alberta Grains, SaskWheat, provincial commodity organizations, the list goes on. We’re seeing a lot of Prairie-wide support for variety development that benefits Alberta farmers.”
That support is needed as the federal government gradually pulls back funding, something it’s been doing for decades now.
“In an ideal world, the federal government, whether it’s through AAFC or the National Research Council, would put in a little bit higher amount than they’ve been putting in through the five-year research plans AAFC has been using now for just over 20 years,” he says.
“But when you take inflation into account over the last 20 years, ultimately, the federal government is putting less money into variety development than they were 15 or 20 years ago.”
Why?
“At the federal level, there’s a lot of demands on how public dollars are spent. We’ve got health care, immigration, military spending, all these different categories. So, for agriculture to sit at the cabinet table and say, ‘We need an extra $300 million,’ you’ve got to present a really robust case to say this investment will provide real benefits to Canadian agriculture and consumers as a whole,” Smyth says.
“That’s why it’s important for commodity organizations to do these types of studies and say, ‘Look, we’re providing solid value to the Canadian economy with these new varieties of seed that are being developed.’”
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