Canadian Consulting Agrologists Association. Submission to the Agriculture Policy Framework Process

Transcription

1 Canadan Consulng Agologss Assocaon Submsson o he Agculue Polcy Famewok Pocess Mach 7, 2007 Fo moe nfomaon please conac: Adele Buene, Execuve Deco, CCAA, , Tey Beke,PAg, CAC, Pesden, CCAA o Daell Toma, PAg, CMC, CAC, Advso, The CCAA webse s hp://

2 The Canadan Ag-food Seco Mus Innovae To Compee Ths pape descbes key ssues and ecommendaons whch Canada needs o addess o ensue he ag-food seco can connue o gow and develop. The Canadan Consulng Agologss Assocaon (CCAA) epesens a naonal membeshp whch has many scenfc dscplnes and a pvae-seco based membeshp of qualfed and desgnaed consulans (unde legslaon). The clens of he CCAA nclude fames, coopeaves, agculual assocaons, fnance, pvae seco busnesses, NGOs, unveses, colleges, he publc seco and nenaonal agences. Membes ae nvolved n he ag-food value chan fom eseach, poducon, pocessng, polcy advce, fnance, due dlgence, makeng o ade and nenaonal developmen. Vson of he CCAA The Canadan Consulng Agologss Assocaon wll be ecognzed by agculual busness clens as he mos cedble souce of pofessonal agculual consulng sevces, domescally and nenaonally. We have been n opeaon snce 1974 as a naonal cefyng body and have nenaonal Memoanda of Undesandng (MOUs) wh he Amecan Socey of Agculual Consulans and he Inenaonal Insue fo Coopeaon n Agculue (IICA- 34 couny membes). Membeshp s held unde gudance of povncal legslaon wh a goal o poec he publc n maes of ag-food and lfe scences pofessonal acves. Canada s unque wh hs expese. The CCAA has developed a hghly successful Noh Amecan Consulng School (see hp:// whch annually aacs Canadan and nenaonal aendees. Ths yea s beng held n conjuncon wh a povncal Insue n Banff ( The focus hs yea s on he emegng aeas of boenegy and bopoducs. The School was developed o educae pofessonals n leadng ag-food/ lfe scences subjec mae who offe ehcal, cedble and useful nfomaon as advsos. Anohe NACS couse wll be n Oawa Mach 28, Ou Key Ineess The CCAA has a keen nees n he ag-food and lfe scences secos as ou membes wok pmaly n hese aeas and offe many scenfc dscplnes o poduces, agbusness, publc seco and nenaonal agences. Ou key nees s mananng and enhancng he oveall compeveness of he Canadan ag-food and lfe scences secos, and by way of hs bef, o povde nfomed commen o he nex Canadan Agculue Polcy Famewok and pogams. Agculue Polcy Famewok Themes Fo Dscusson We ecognze he coe APF hemes of (see ): Busness sk managemen Innovaon and scence Renewal Make developmen and ade Food safey and qualy Envonmen. CCAA- Ag Polcy Famewok Submsson

3 A numbe of polcy decons ae mpoan fo Canada o consde: Developng and Implemenng a Make- Based Polcy- he nex decade wll see moe compeve pessues n Canada on esouce uses (eg. enegy, wae) and al sof om n e na onalma ke s.canada sag -food seco can espond wh a make based polcy. If Canada does no pacpae fully n he WTO developmens, may seously ham fuue gowh. We may need o undeake moe egonal and blaeal appoaches. Technology Innovaon and Tansfe s Equally Impoan- he las 15 yeas has s eencanada s eseach and developmen segmen nenalzed wh he nnovaon and ansfe funcon ecevng much less aenon. Compeve busnesses and naons nves n R&D and nnovae wh hose esuls. Reseach alone s no he only answe. Ths gap s well known n he basc scence aea whee many new Canadan dscovees have no been commecalzed n Canada. Pe-commecal gaps exs. Openng up Povncal Bodes - o allow domesc nduses o develop and be esed s mpoan gven a global oppouny. Inepovncal ade baes sll exs and Albea and BC have mplemened a ade ageemen whch can be a model fo evew. Ths pevens much needed nenal nnovaon and poducvy mpovemens. A Focus on Busness Sysems - o suppo he goal of a global hgh qualy and hgh value food seco means much moe neacon wh pvae seco nvolvemen. Fuhemoe, he use of collaboaons has o nclude use of demand and value chans and ohe emegng busness models. Ths wll mean new anng, educaon and suppo o he ag-food, boechnology and lfe scences secos. The undelyng heme of he APF poposals appeas o be a pvae seco lead appoach and heefoe moden busness sysems need o be appled. Susanable Resouce Use and Managemen s Impoan- as Canada connues o gow n populaons and developmens, esouce use and managemen advce fom qualfed pofessonals n plannng, mplemenng and auds wll become vey mpoan o defend he mage of a hgh qualy and safe food souce. In addon, wae as a esouce wll ealze a new focus globally. Wae, land and a need o be caefully planned and managed. Bee Saegc Inegaon wh Pvae Seco such as sevce povdes, food companes and alled ndusy ae mpeave o compee n a global food economy. The APF documens do no addess hs ccal componen well and he ealy of he food busness of he fuue wll be much moe make- based value chans and food busness consoldaon. These conceps ae ecognzed n he pncples bu no n he appoaches whch seem o he publc and poduce levels only. The value chans of he fuue wll nvolve many pvae seco playes o each moden food makes globally. Compeveness Issues fo Canadan Ag-food Seco and Recommendaons A numbe of global dves exs whch ae changng he ag-food seco. Dves nclude: global make demands fo pocessed foods, compeve supples fom ohe counes, naonal pogams affecng fam and ndusy pofably, food safey and aceably, consume esponsve poducs and demogaphc changes. The man ssues facng he seco ae ofen dscussed, bu no well answeed. CCAA- Ag Polcy Famewok Submsson

4 Key ssues fo Canadan ag-food compeveness nclude: Tade polcy whch ecognzes boh make demands and Canadan senghs Poducvy enhancng polcy Adequae supply of sklled managemen and labo Adequae and affodable wae, enegy, ules and powe fo poducon Value added, nche poducs n addon o commody agculue Collaboaon saeges of value chan developmens and new busness models Bes pacces ae needed o compee Regulaons whch allow fo new ndusy ceaon and poduc developmens n he boeconomy, funconal foods and enhanced capal fomaon Geae use of he pvae seco fo echnology ansfe, managemen advce and exendng new knowledge no he seco. 1. Inenaonal Tade Polcy s Impoan- he cuen ound of he WTO negoaons s n pocess and Canada has aken a dffcul poson whch may exclude fom nfluencng he oucomes. Wh a focus on a saus quo poson, Canada wll have dffculy adapng f s no a he able wh some foesgh. Hsocally Canada has gown wh an expo oenaon and hs wll connue gven he expandng makes of Chna, Inda and ohes havng sng ncomes and seekng hgh value goods. Canada needs o pacpae wh mullaeal, egonal and blaeal appoaches. 2. Poducvy Enhancng Polcy- Canada sp oduc v y el a v e omany ncl ud ng he USA s low and esuls n naonal ncomes laggng he ohe developed naons. Poducvy can be nceased by focusng on value added goods, auomaon, ax ncenves fo new busness sysems and machney and by developng a hghly aned wokfoce. Wok by he Geoge Mos Cene and ohes (eg, Mnz, CD Howe Insue) have addessed hese maes. Fuhe, he fam seco may be sgnfcanly mpaced f euns eman low. Bnkman (2006) agues ha Canadan fams ae less compeve han he USA and Lan Ameca and make based euns have been negave fo ove 10 yeas. (Canadan Fam Busness Managemen Councl 2006). 3. Labo and Demogaphcs ae Ccal- he agng of he Canadan populaon s well descbed by ohes (Fooe). The ag-food seco s a majo employe of people and hs s a hea o fuhe gowh whou successon plans and ohe poducvy soluons. 4. Adequae and Affodable Inpus- Canada s movng no a zone of sk elave o hsocal senghs of wae, low enegy coss and ohe low cos npus. Wae s now a poenal scace esouce and offes wae qualy sks n ual communes. Enegy s sng n cos and gven ou dsances, wll be a necessay npu o ge goods o make. The Albea Food Pocessos Assocaon Pesden noes, I fou ndus y s osu v ve, we mus develop ealsc saeges ha wll allow ou membes o offse, ecove and m n m z eouh ghl y nf l a edcoss uc u e. (AFPA n Acon, Januay 2007) 5. Sellng Value Added Nche Poducs n addon o Commodes- he fuue fam wll nclude many value added small scale enepses n addon o he commody fams whch exs n Canada. How ae hese developmens beng encouaged and seved? Value added poducs ae nceasng n ade whle commodes ae geneally no. CCAA- Ag Polcy Famewok Submsson

5 Innovaon and echnology ansfe s essenal. Ths effo can nclude pocessed foods, non-food poducs, boechnology, ago-ousm, ogancs and alled sevces. 6. Moe Collaboaon s Needed- Canada s a small couny wh many dvese neess bu n he global make, hese neess may need o wok ogehe o compee. Moe developmens n he aeas of demand and value chans, mul-se and mul-fam opeaons and new busness models ae needed. 7. Use of Bes Pacces ae Needed- Canada has aken a majo sep fowad n he use of benefcal managemen pacces and envonmenal fam plans o help addess consume, ag-pocesso and eale ssues of food safey. Moe s needed and a boade sysemc appoach o noduce moe leadng pacces s needed. 8. Appopae Regulaons ae Needed- o help develop some new emegng makes of he boeconomy, boechnology, funconal foods and even ndusy fomaon, some egulaons may be needed. Ohe compeo naons have suppoed new ndusy ceaon and Canada lags behnd n hs aea. Whou clea egulaon, many of hese oppounes wll no be ealzed. 9. Geae Use of he Pvae Seco- n he las 15 yeas he fedeal and povncal govenmens have pulled ou of he mpoan aeas of echnology ansfe and dec fam level advce. Fo many poduces s dffcul o oban ndependen and qualfed hd pay advce. Ths s an aea whee many poducvy gans can be made wh hghe elance on he pvae seco o povde echncal and managemen suppo o he fam and ag-busness seco. A mnmum level of cefcaon and pofessonal developmen cea s needed o ensue ha compeen advce s beng gven o ensue poecon of he publc, n one of s mos basc needs- foods, foods fo healh and new bo-ech and bo-ndusal poducs. The CCAA s vey neesed n povdng npu o he nex APF polcy and pogam appoaches. Moden make- based conceps ae needed ogehe wh a Canadan appoach n ode o buld a compeve food seco. The ole of he pvae seco wll become moe mpoan fo many aeas n developng and negang moden and compeve food (and non-food) value chans. Ths sengh has no been ecognzed well ye. Fo moe nfomaon please conac: Adele Buene, Execuve Deco, CCAA, , Tey Beke,PAg, CAC, Pesden, CCAA o Daell Toma, PAg, CMC, CAC, Advso and Auho, The webse s hp:// CCAA- Ag Polcy Famewok Submsson