The self-reliant individualist may be part of Alberta’s character, but it won’t help the province succeed in a rapidly changing global food marketplace, says the new head of the Agriculture and Food Council.
“There is that go-it-alone mentality in Alberta,” said John Connolly, the council’s executive director.
“Globalization used to be an esoteric term, now it’s a reality. Things happen outside Alberta that have a major impact on Alberta. You have to be aware of it and link with it and understand it.”
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That applies to his own organization, said Connolly, and that’s why it has been undergoing major changes. The council has a new office and a slimmed-down board structure, and hired Connolly in March with a mandate to make further changes. The focus, he says, will be on how to stay relevant in today’s world and become less reliant on provincial and federal government programs.
“There’s a tendency in a provincial organization to think about the province and the people in the province, and work with those people and not break out and that has been the council’s focus for the past 18 years,” he said.
“I’m trying to position the council as an organization with a broader scope that just happens to be in Alberta (and) to bring that knowledge and the linkages back to Alberta so we can have value added to the sector in Alberta.
“The primary focus is to build prosperity for the agri-food business in Alberta.”
Good contacts
Connolly moved from Ottawa to take up his new role and brings with him a Rolodex of contacts from his past work in developing the federal agricultural policy framework and in Asia-Pacific market development. He said he believes the council should concentrate on building itself as an organization and not be so focused on delivering government programs. Part of the effort involves broadening the membership while streamlining its governance. In 2009, the council had 27 members, all of whom were on the board. It now has a nine-member board, even though membership has grown to 70. Connolly wants to expand that further to consumer and retail organizations, as well as sectors linked to agriculture, such as transportation.
Connolly also wants more private-sector funding.
“We want to have money that is not encumbered by all the strings attached to government money so we can actually design a program the way that we want and not have restrictions,” he said.
The non-profit council was established in 1993 to deliver provincial and federal programs to the agriculture and food sector. It has since funded 864 projects, as well as holding policy events and conferences.
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“Globalizationusedtobeanesotericterm,nowit’sareality.ThingshappenoutsideAlbertathathaveamajorimpactonAlberta.”
JOHN CONNOLLY
