Ontario agriculture gains new policy think tank

Thursday, April 17, 2008

by MARY BAXTER

Tima Bansal temporarily holds the school’s newly created position of regulatory impact chair, which will oversee the project. She said while several other business sectors in Ontario have had access to objective analysis on how government policy affects their activity, the same cannot be said for agriculture.

The business school, which is attached to the University of Western Ontario, intends to close the gap by evaluating current regulations, proposing new ones and identifying how both would “influence the sector and probably some of the adjacent sectors across the whole supply chain,” said Bansal. Such analysis “is really important if we’re going to make informed policy.”

She likened the service that will be offered to that provided by independent think tanks such as the Toronto-based C.D. Howe Institute.

While farmers are “really busy people” who might find it hard to find the time to step back and evaluate policy, “we can do that,” she said. “I think unlike other sectors there needs to be a voice here – an objective voice from which others can take the information and then say ‘this is what we need now; this is how we can lobby government for better regulations.’”

Research isn’t the only objective in the school’s newest endeavour. Education is also key, she said, pointing out the focus will generate more case studies of agriculture and agri-food business and hopefully attract more people to agri-business.

The school’s new research direction is being launched with just over $2 million in federal funding released through the Agricultural Adaptation Council. The council, a coalition of agriculture and rural groups, is best known for distributing federal grants for projects.

In the case of the Ivey school’s program, however, the council took a more active role by issuing a call for proposals for institutions to look at how they might address the analysis of government regulation, said Kim Turnbull, the council’s chair. Two Ontario institutions responded. The other institution was the University of Guelph.

Turnbull explained the call came after the council learned it had amassed some money (repaid loans under a former program and some under spending connected to other grants) and under its original rules could take a more active role in offering industry support.

“We sat around the board table and identified some key areas where we could help out the agriculture and agri-food sector,” he said. Government responsiveness in terms of regulatory change was one of these. He pointed out this issue has particularly become a sore point in connection with pesticide and labeling regulations.

The Ivey School might not be known for its connections to Ontario agriculture but that outside perspective could be a real strength because it would allow for a different perspective on the issue, he said.

While the money is intended to fund research for five years, Bansal said the expectation within the school was the focus would be permanent. The school is recruiting for a permanent chair with the goal to have the position filled by July 2009. BF