The cuts have finally come to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Recently more than 665 employees have lost their jobs, and we now know that seven research facilities across the country are slated for closure.
Each facility has its own important story to tell about the benefits they provide to the public good, as do the researchers themselves. Additionally, esteemed wheat breeder, Richard Cuthbert’s recent resignation from Swift Current, Sask., research station, leaves a gap that needs to filled by spring if we want to see improved varieties of wheat continue to excel.
We don’t fully know the effect of all these cuts, but this is one of those times when farmers and citizens need to speak up loudly and demand accountability. It’s not enough to simply shrug shoulders and take the pessimistic “there’s nothing more we can do” approach. That drags us into a complacent and passive individualism; the malaise that got us here in the first place; the mindset that expects cuts to be the future norm.
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It would also be a mistake to accept that much-touted “privatization” is the only path forward. The realities are that several Canadian private companies pay a fee for use of these facilities and collectively gain from this work.
Most farmers see the benefit of these government institutions. The results on our farms are evident. We see the creation of new varieties, combined with the growth and nurturing of long-term researchers in the public system, as necessary to combat future challenges in food productivity while ensuring the effectiveness of Canadian farmers, globally and locally.
One major problem is that we track the productivity gains from breeding efforts on a bushel-per-acre basis, but we don’t put the same efforts into tracking other benefits of public plant breeding. Simply put, the work is supported, but the value of it can be difficult to communicate clearly.
When effort is taken to delve into the economic impact, it is impressive. A major study in Saskatchewan from lead author Richard Gray found the following:
- Taxpayer investments of $370.6 million between 1995 and 2020 resulted in a cumulative benefit to the Canadian economy of $11.8 billion.
- Ever single dollar of wheat investment from governments returned $31 to Canadians. When producer contributions through joint funding efforts were factored in, the return rose to over $70.
The study concluded “… these breeding programs should be supported by all parties with the aim of enhancing capacity and sustaining these effective relationships over time.”
This is the sort of information we should be communicating to decision-makers in government, especially at a time where Canada’s sovereign economic interests are at the forefront of the policy agenda. Agriculture and food related research should not be a casualty of mere bean counting (literally).
One critical loss will be the organic program lead by Dr. Myriam Fernandez in Swift Current. It’s been one of the few long-term research programs that addresses the production issues of organic and regenerative farmers in Canada. Just as government is asking farmers to use more climate mitigation practices and improve their environmental footprint, it has slashed one of the few research programs aimed at doing so effectively.
There is much we do not yet know about the microbial activity of soil and how we might leverage those natural activities for our agricultural purposes. This work is knowledge-based. It’s free of bias for profit. It’s extremely hard to replace. I fear these moves similar to the agricultural equivalent of scrapping the Avro Arrow in the 1950s, when Canada was a world leader in aerospace design.
To clarify, these cuts:
- Ignore important production and unbiased knowledge-based issues because there’s no way to reasonably replace or monetize that work (low return).
- Fuel the fire for profit motive mechanisms like expensive end point royalties that funnel farmer dollars into hungry investor pockets.
- Introduce a vacuum to future gains through the loss of programs and researchers that require year in and year out experimental work. Private companies will not pick up that tab. The nation suffers.
The results are like cutting off a farmer’s leg, offering them a shiny prosthetic one, and then charging them a subscription to use it.
We must ensure the decision-makers in Ottawa understand the true cost of this decision, and lobby them to reverse it.
Farmers, it’s time to write those letters. Start with your local MP, and work your way up.
Dean Harder farms near Lowe Farm, Manitoba. He’s a member of the Manitoba regional council of the National Farmers’ Union, and a former director of what was the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association.
