New agriculture science and innovation strategy proposes increased funding for biomass research, partnerships

Federal agricultural research is about to undergo a significant expansion into biomass as part of a new strategy released earlier this year. The strategy will see an infusion of new funding, increased emphasis on partnerships and clusters and the replacement of the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council (CARC). Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) released its new Science and Innovation Strategy following extensive consultations and is now in discussions with Treasury Board to secure new resources to enlarge its mandate into areas where it sees the greatest potential for sectoral growth.

The strategy comes at a time of crisis for Canadian agriculture which faces increasing competition from low-cost commodity producers in nations like Brazil and Argentina. The AAFC's long-standing approach for using research to increase the yield and quality of traditional crops is increasingly ineffective as Canadian farmers are no longer able to compete on price. Sustained losses by food producers have triggered a series of protests in recent months, bringing the need for a fresh approach into stark relief.

"The sector is facing very clear challenges … Can we create non-food fibre crops that will address national challenges and priorities like health and wellness? And what about biomass to replace fossil fuel? This requires new research," says Dr Marc Fortin, AAFC ADM research branch. "We need to find different ways of creating partnerships. We will be focusing on a holistic view of innovation from basic and applied research through to technology transfer, regulatory and policy and market analysis … This will require a sea change in attitude."

In addition to increasing the research focus on non-food crops, the strategy places greater emphasis on partnerships with other players in the agricultural sector, particularly the provinces, post-secondary institutions and industry.

To that end, it will establish a new mechanism for collaboration that places greater emphasis on the supply side of innovation. The change in focus resulted in AAFC's termination of funding for CARC, which will cease operations at the end of September.

The strategy also proposes the creation of science-based clusters in rural areas close to producers to assist them in diversifying into processing and alternative crop uses. Canada has a natural advantage for biomass production that holds considerable promise for rural Canadians. But research activity supporting such a move must be increased in concert with partners.

Key to implementing the new strategy is a restructuring of AAFC's research enterprise to focus on value-added activity. That includes advancing R&D in areas that serve multiple markets and helping move farmers up the value chain. The intent is to reduce risk by spreading exposure over several markets .

Bolstering AAFC research into biomass will require new infrastructure, facilities and fields of expertise that are not adequately served by the series of research centres currently spread across the country. Interaction with non-departmental experts will be increased in the coming years, as will new approaches to collaboration and funding.

"There's an opportunity in the next few years to renew our scientific staff. We currently have approximately 600 PhD staff and about 100 will be renewed. This gives us flexibility," says Fortin. "Our conventional approach has been to build research centres and staff them. We need to do this differently and tap into expertise developed through the Canada Foundation for Innovation and others ... We have a moral obligation to make best use of this publicly funded expertise and capacity."

GOVERNMENT INDICATES SUPPORT FOR BIOMASS

With greater capacity and new research areas comes the need for more financial resources and AAFC may be in a position to announce additional funding in the coming weeks. The federal government has already indicated its interest in biomass, with strong support from agriculture minister Chuck Strahl and references to biomass science, a biofuels strategy the development of new market opportunities in the May/06 Budget (see page 86 of The Budget Plan).

AAFC officials are currently in discussions with Treasury Board for AAFC's request for new funding. An official response is expected in the coming weeks.

"Minister Strahl is interested in developing new opportunities for agriculture and is committed to adding additional resources," says Fortin. "If we are to do new research in new areas, we have to have new resources ... We will ask Parliament for additional allocations to support research in new areas."

In addition to the new science and innovation strategy, AAFC is developing a separate but parallel innovation strategy connected to the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) (R$, February 18/03). Developed in conjunction with the provinces, the APF is being renewed after its initial three-year run. Dr Lorne Heslop, AAFC's director of science and innovation is leading the development of the APF's innovation component, which is being readied for consultations set to begin this fall.

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