The Canadian Seed Growers Association warns upcoming research cuts at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will have far-reaching consequences.
The Seed Growers Association's outgoing executive director Doug Miller participated in a panel discussion at the CrossRoads Crop Conference in Edmonton on January 27.
Miller says the spending reductions on research may yield short-term fiscal savings, but carry long-term consequences that outweigh any immediate gain.
"You just can't turn off a switch on Thursday afternoon and expect that GAP or private sector to pick it up on Monday. With the closing of these stations, we're losing valuable capacity in terms of infrastructure, in terms of personnel, in terms of germplasm. And that's not something that we're going to get back." he said. "We've been advocating for a conversation, a consultation about what happens next because if you don't have a plan, where are you going as a country?"
Seed growers rely on a stable and predictable pipeline of new varieties developed through close collaboration among breeders, pathologists, agronomists and the broader value chain. Miller notes there were already challenges in the public planting breeding sector, even before these latest cuts.
"I clearly believe that our plant breeding infrastructure was a national treasure. And it's won through funding cuts, retirements not being backfilled, research trials not being renewed. We've let that national treasure really wither on the vine. And so when we have a government that is saying they want to invest more and spend less, there's no better investment than public plant breeding. Research is showing us that for every dollar invested in plant breeding returns 33 back. Show me another program in government that gives you that kind of return." he said, adding it was a wake up call as well as an opportunity for farmers to "seize where we need to go next."
Miller says developing a new seed variety takes a decade and once research programs are cut, they are extremely difficult to rebuild.
"Right now you have those great genetics, you're still getting the products of the investments that we've made over the last 10 years. So that's what you have in your farm right now. But I think we're going to wake up in 10 years from now and say, w'here did our productivity go?' We've been trying to have a conversation about what happens next. And this is maybe the kick that we need as a sector to really figure that out. Because I don't think we can put our head in the sand anymore."
SARM also against AAFC reduction
Add the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) to the list of groups that strongly oppose cuts made at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
President Bill Huber says they will be meeting with Conservative MP for Swift Current-Grasslands-Kindersley Jeremy Patzer to talk about it.
Huber called the cuts "a big hit to agriculture in this province."
"These were very valuable tools that we had and it's really disappointing to see that changing so drastically with the number of layoffs." Huber said.
And like other farm groups, Huber believes the cuts were made in the wrong area.
"Prime Minister Carney has stated several times that we've got to build Canada. We need one united Canada. And by making cuts like this to agriculture, one of the largest industries in this province, isn't a sign of cooperation from the federal government, really. We needed more money spent on things like this." he said.
While he doesn't disagree the federal government needed to cut spending, Huber suggested something to be cut in"Eastern Canada rather than taking another run at Saskatchewan."
The Public Service Alliance of Canada previously stated 73 of its Saskatchewan members will be impacted with a handful more from other unions. Overall, 665 positions at AAFC were cut on January 22.
The two Saskatchewan research sites at Scott and Indian Head are among facilities across Canada that will be shutting down at some point over the next 12 months.
The organic research program in Swift Current, led by Dr. Myriam Fernandez, was another cut made.
(with files from Neil Billinger, CJWW)
