b'As we move forward, our focus continues to be on providing value to members and the industry at large. WeTHE POWER OF DIGITALare actively modernizing our digital systems, service offer- CROP CERTIFICATESings, and regulations to be more agile and responsive. He says CSGA is taking a holistic view to seed certifi- According to Doug Miller, managing director of cationone that is digitally enabled.certification and technology services for the Canadian Looking at the current seed certification system,Seed Growers Association, digital crop certificates will delivery and user experience is fragmented. The need forbring a number of benefits to seed growers including:a single window for seed regulatory services is apparent. We feel that SeedCert 2.0 provides a strong foundation for Receiving crop certificates fastera seed sector single window and provides a cost-effective,Creating a secure and integrated storage system for secure solution moving forward. crop certificate-related documentation (e.g., pedigreed The digital seed crop certificate replaces the hardcopy- seed declarations, purity, and germination reports) based certificate and provides a foundation for future growth and opportunities, Miller says.allowing for better usability and accessibilityThe digital certificate is the next step in creating aAugmented security and integrity of CSGAs crop digital, end-to-end, streamlined certification process. Ourcertificate through encryption and online verificationinitial feedback from users is that it is easy to use and has the potential to significantly reduce administrative burdenIncreased business continuity in the event of a postal for both producers and companies. disruption or other service disruption (such as the As CSGA looks beyond the digital certificate, MillerCOVID-19 pandemic impacts)says the organization is working to provide members Ease of future integrations into the existingwith new services such as voluntary digital seed gradingsupply chainreports and pedigreed seed declarationsall integrated with the digital crop certificate. Weve heard our members loud and clear; they want more digital services from CSGAespecially as it relates to the next link in the chain. Several of our members are investing in data management systems and we knowScheffel points to seed quality standards as an exam-these new services will have an immediate return onple. Currently, Canadas requirements for pedigreed seed investment for our members and new players as our eco- production are laid out in Circular 6. The CSGA has a system expands.Regulatory Services Committee (RSC) that meets twice or more each year to review and recommend changes to The Road to Regulatory Modernization Circular 6. The RSC includes seed growers, seed trade, The vision, Miller says, is to bring information togetherseed analysts, provincial government representatives in new packages that, to this point, havent been possibleand the CFIA. Several years ago, crop-specific working because of the inability to integrate data sources. groups, with similarly diverse makeup, were established Although CSGAs modernization initiatives are sepa- to review and propose changes to the RSC.rate from CFIAs seed regulation modernization, there areCSGA holds the pen on Circular 6. Were responsible overlaps. Seeing as CSGA modernization initiatives willfor maintaining it, making changes to it, and for imple-serve to benefit the seed regulatory system as a whole,menting the requirements that are set out in that docu-CSGAs managing director of policy and standards Mikement, but we do so in cooperation with stakeholders, Scheffel says the SeedCert 2.0 system and other improve- Scheffel adds. ments CSGA is making to its systems could help aid dis- If it were decided that the grade tables, for example, cussions surrounding regulatory modernization. should be incorporated by reference to get them out of With the regulatory modernization discussions, werethe regulations and into another document so they could not just talking about the Seeds Regulations themselves.be more easily amended or changed, through regula-Well be talking about who does what and the respectivetory modernization discussions we can decide if thats a roles of government and industry, Scheffel says. document that would then continue to be maintained and As we move ahead, well need to have a detailed dis- managed by the CFIA, or if its the kind of document that cussion as an industry and with government as to whichcould be handed over to a seed industry body, and the bodies will be responsible for certain aspects of the seedCSGA would be an obvious choice as we already have the regulatory landscape. systems in place to manage the process of change. 32GERMINATION.CAMARCH 2021'