New approach to national hort research would give industry more say

Thursday, April 23, 2009

© AgMedia Inc.

by SUSAN MANN

Fruit and vegetable grower groups may soon have a greater say in determining federal research projects through the establishment of a non-government organization to administer national horticulture research.

Some people worry this new way to administer research across the country will mean closing regional federal facilities, says Art Smith, CEO of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association. He doesn’t think that will happen.

Industry representatives are working with the federal government on the four-year pilot of a non-government, non-profit administrative body to administer national horticulture research, he explains.

Brenda Lammens, the provincial association’s chair, says farm organizations have asked the federal government for more flexibility so they can decide how money earmarked for agricultural programs is spent. Although the industry does contribute some money towards research, it currently has to apply to government programs if it wants a particular project done.

“You have to meet the criteria of that program with your research request,” she says. Creating what the industry and government are calling a “research cluster” approach will allow industry greater say in deciding, “what we feel are the priorities.”

Smith says involving industry in setting research priorities may lead to more practical applications. He notes that in horticulture, some research doesn’t get applied because “there was science being done that wasn’t particularly needed or useful to industry.”

Canadian Horticultural Council executive vice-president Anne Fowlie says the organization will generate “ideas and science priorities.”

The Council received direction from delegates at its annual meeting in March to investigate being the administrative organization for the pilot in collaboration with a research institution. Fowlie says the Council has been successful in administering other government programs, such as the on-farm food safety program for fruits and vegetables.

But details, such as which organization will administer the research, aren’t known yet because the federal government hasn’t released information on how the pilot would work. Agriculture Canada officials won’t talk about the pilot project because it hasn’t been announced. Fowlie says details could arrive as soon as May 1.

Smith says the new research administrative body would make decisions on the best place and best scientists to do the necessary work identified by industry representatives. 

Lammens says research projects would be national in scope. That’s why she’s concerned some horticultural commodities may be left out of research dollars. For example, apples, potatoes and blueberries are grown across Canada, while asparagus, grapes and tender fruit are only grown in certain areas. “There’s not a lot of horticultural crops that are grown in every province,” she says.

Along with setting priorities, the agricultural industry would contribute some costs towards research, as would the federal government.

Industry’s contribution level hasn’t been released. Lammens worries that the money for the cluster proposal, estimated at $20 million over four years for horticulture, won’t be enough. The pilot is being funded under Agriculture Canada’s Growing Forward initiative.

Fowlie says they’re not waiting for the federal government’s announcement on details to continue working on horticulture’s proposal. The Council’s science advisory committee developed terms of reference “and we’ve also done some draft modeling around how we would conceptually work together to have the research and innovation priorities further developed by commodity groups.”

Smith and Lammens say the government is considering similar clusters to administer research in other sectors, such as grain or beef. BF