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Bringing an Industry Together

Six seed sector organizations are collaborating on a Seed Synergy project that could see them work together like never before.

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An important new effort is taking shape for the Canadian seed industry, and it’s one that has the potential to spark some key discussions and see the industry unite like never before._x000D_
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It’s called the Seed Synergy project, and is an effort involving all six of the industry’s organizations — the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA), Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA), Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada (CSAAC), Canadian Seed Institute (CSI), Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA) and CropLife Canada._x000D_
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CropLife Canada CEO Ted Menzies says it’s an appropriate time to talk about what the Canadian seed industry looks like today and what it needs to look like and do in the future.
CropLife Canada CEO Ted Menzies says it’s an appropriate time to talk about what the Canadian seed industry looks like today and what it needs to look like and do in the future.
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First reported on by Germination in March, the ambitious plan to develop a vision for the seed sector (which may include potential adjustments to the regulatory system to support that vision) has now been agreed upon by the boards of all six groups. To date, the parties have agreed on the need to be ready if and when the government decides to move forward with a review of the seed regulatory system, and by extension, changes to it._x000D_
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But with a half-dozen different organizations representing the Canadian seed industry, where do you start?_x000D_
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“We have all these different associations, six of them, dealing with one thing, and that’s seed. So why shouldn’t we be pulling in the same direction along with the regulators?” asks Ted Menzies, president and CEO of CropLife Canada._x000D_
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Menzies, a longtime Alberta farmer and former Member of Parliament, says it’s an appropriate time to talk about what the Canadian seed industry looks like today and what it needs to look like and do in the future. At a time when government is putting more responsibility into the hands of the seed industry and growers — Alternative Service Delivery (ASD) being one example — Menzies says there’s definitely value in the concept of six groups speaking with one voice._x000D_
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“The last thing we want to do is form another association, but we know the seed industry needs a single voice, and we’re going to be looking at what the next-generation seed regulatory system in Canada could look like. Having been in government, I see great value in our legislators and regulators being able to hear one voice that represents a broad spectrum of our industry.”_x000D_
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Seed Synergy as a concept originated among five of the current six Seed Synergy Project partners at a meeting in April 2015. CropLife Canada joined the discussion in December 2015. The discussions around the Seed Synergy   project are being facilitated by Warren Wilson of Intersol Consulting. Running parallel and complementary to these discussions is CSGA’s Strategic Planning project, which is being facilitated by consultant Monty Doyle of Ontario, a former senior public servant._x000D_
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Neither Doyle nor Wilson are strangers to this work. Back in 2003, both helped conduct an industry-led, government supported initiative, known as the Canadian Seed Sector Review. In some respects, it’s similar to the Seed Synergy project._x000D_
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That review looked at Canada’s seed sector and seed regulatory environment from a global context. Among its more specific purposes was to “generate consensus on challenges facing the sector and on options for facilitating constructive change, with a key area of focus being the regulatory framework and related systems.”_x000D_
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Canadian Seed Growers’ Association executive director Glyn Chancey says the seed regulatory system as it looks today might not be sustainable without a redesign.
Canadian Seed Growers’ Association executive director Glyn Chancey says the seed regulatory system as it looks today might not be sustainable without a redesign.
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Changing Times_x000D_
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Like Menzies, Doyle says now is a crucial time to look at how the Canadian seed regulatory system functions and how the industry itself can work to better facilitate its communication with government._x000D_
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“Much has changed in the past 10 years,” he told delegates of the CSGA annual meeting held in Clear Lake, Man., in July. He referenced previous projects, such as the Seed Sector Review, and said Seed Synergy will take today’s global economic and regulatory situation into account to determine the best path forward._x000D_
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The CSGA’s Strategic Planning exercise, of which Seed Synergy is a part, will take a four-phase approach. The first began at the CSGA annual general meeting in July and the last phase will end in the summer of 2017 with the presentation of a final strategic plan._x000D_
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This exercise is designed in part to ensure that CSGA is positioned to actively participate in the Seed Synergy project by forging consensus among members on key issues, explains Glyn Chancey, CSGA executive director and a former federal regulator._x000D_
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Chancey, who spoke at length about the CSGA Strategic Planning exercise and the Seed Synergy project, notes there is growing concern that the expertise and resources needed to operate the seed regulatory system has been reduced to a point where the system, in its current form, might not be sustainable without a redesign._x000D_
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At the annual meeting, breakout sessions were focused on this very topic and featured representatives from all six organizations. During these sessions, Chancey encouraged participants to imagine that none of their respective seed organizations existed, with the goal of helping them come together and speak as representatives of a single industry._x000D_
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Essentially, the Seed Synergy project is an exercise that Chancey says will begin with seed sector stakeholders “getting their seed together” and which will subsequently broaden out to include other crop sector value chain stakeholders._x000D_
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“That’s become a cliché recently, but ultimately what it means is who’s going to know the industry better than the principal actors who serve that sector? They have historically coordinated their efforts from time to time, but never in a really systematic way,” he says._x000D_
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“There’s recognition that there needs to be an effort to develop a set of principles and objectives all the organizations can subscribe to in order to facilitate the equivalent of one voice where it matters.”_x000D_
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Mike Scheffel knows just how helpful having that one voice might be. Scheffel is a former seed program manager for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and now handles the policy and standards portfolio for CSGA._x000D_
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“It’s more effective when you can come together as one and say to government, ‘We all want the same thing, here’s the way we see it, we’ve talked with other groups potentially affected, what do you think?’” Scheffel says._x000D_
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From Menzies’ perspective, CropLife Canada is entering uncharted territory that he thinks will result in positive changes for the industry as a whole._x000D_
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“We’ve worked with all the other groups on different initiatives, but never together like is planned here,” he says.”_x000D_
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The Big Questions_x000D_
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As part of the Seed Synergy project, there is agreement among the country’s six seed industry groups on many of the key questions that need to be asked in relation to such a redesign, including:_x000D_
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• What is the purpose of the seed regulatory system?_x000D_
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• What type of “next-generation” system is best suited to fulfill that purpose?_x000D_
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• What are the respective roles of industry and government in any future seed regulatory system?_x000D_
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• What institutional arrangements will be required to support such a system?_x000D_
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Be sure to checkout future editions of Germination for an indepth look at each of these questions. The editorial team will delve into the Seed Synergy project and what it could mean for Canadian seed.

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