Creating a sustainable environment for public and private plant breeding investment will be essential to delivering the genetics farmers need.

One of the most important issues facing Canada’s seed industry today is the environment for investment in plant breeding.

There has been tremendous change in this area recently, and there are important discussions happening across the industry about what comes next. For Seeds Canada, I believe our role is clear: we need to support the solution, because our members will be a big part of it. 

At the heart of this issue is a relatively straightforward question: how do we create a sustainable system that gets innovation into farmers’ hands faster?

Answering that question is way more complicated. There is a lot about that system that has worked. Canadian farmers need confidence in new varieties, and they need reliable information that allows them to make good decisions. But saying that the system has worked does not mean we shouldn’t ask whether it can work better.

I believe there is an opportunity to look across that entire continuum and ask some important questions. Where are we duplicating effort? Are roles and responsibilities as clear as they could be? Are there processes that take more time than necessary? And are we creating an environment that encourages the public and private investment needed to deliver the next generation of varieties?

Those questions matter because plant breeding requires long-term investment.

For organizations willing to make that investment (whether they are public or private, large or small), I believe we need a transparent, predictable and sustainable environment. 

Companies and organizations are willing to invest and bet on themselves. But there needs to be clarity around the system in which they are making those investments.

During my career, I’ve watched agricultural technology advance tremendously. My first custom application machine had a 65-foot boom, and at the time I thought I had it made. Recently, I was talking with a farmer running a sprayer with a boom approaching three times that width.

That is one simple example of how quickly farming has changed. Genetics, equipment, data and agronomic practices continue to advance. Our systems need to be capable of evolving alongside that innovation.

This is where the current discussions around the plant breeding continuum become so important. The challenge is to determine whether we can maintain our strengths while reducing redundancy, increasing productivity and making the overall system more efficient.

Can we clarify the roles and lanes where different organizations add the most value? Can we make testing and commercialization processes more efficient while maintaining confidence in the results? Can we create stronger incentives for investment in breeding? And, ultimately, can we shorten the distance between an investment in innovation and that innovation reaching a farmer’s field?

There are many stakeholders involved in answering those questions, and there will inevitably be different perspectives on how we get there.

There appears to be growing recognition across the industry that maintaining the status quo indefinitely is not the answer. The harder discussion is what should replace it.

That’s where collaboration becomes important. Collaboration doesn’t require every organization to agree on every detail. It requires us to identify where there is common ground, understand where our respective organizations can add value and be willing to work through the difficult areas where our perspectives differ.

Seeds Canada needs to be at those tables. In some areas, we may be positioned to lead. In others, our role may be to contribute or support the work being led elsewhere. What’s important is that we remain engaged and focused on the outcome.

And for me, that outcome remains clear.

There are longstanding processes, different organizational responsibilities and legitimate interests that need to be considered. But this is also an opportunity. Seeds Canada is ready to support our industry partners and farmer customers in turning opportunity into action. 

The seed industry has evolved many times before as technology, markets and farmers’ needs have changed. We are in another one of those periods today.

If we can use this moment to create a more transparent, predictable and efficient environment for plant breeding and variety development, we can strengthen investment in Canadian agriculture and improve our ability to deliver innovation.

That’s an issue I believe is worth getting right.