Canada partners with China and Israel for trilateral agreement on agri-technologies

Unites three R&D leaders in the field

Canada is set to mark a world's-first with a tri-lateral agricultural technologies R&D agreement with China and Israel. The groundbreaking deal was signed at a July 29 roundtable on agri-innovation in Ottawa organized by International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada (ISTPCanada). The resulting declaration calls for a new trilateral research and technology development cooperation program for industrial R&D that organizers say offers huge potential for Canada to tap into some of the world's most important economies and innovations sources.

Canada entered the roundtable with the support of 10 government departments and agencies including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation (CIIRDF), National Research Council, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Sustainable Development Technologies Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada. AAFC is a particularly critical partner and played a major role in planning for the event and developing the final declaration.

"This is potentially a very big deal although we have some hard work ahead of us … If we can work the formula, have the rules of eligibility applied well and promote three-way partnerships, the pay-off is huge," says ISTPCanada president and CEO Dr Henri Rothschild. "What we are going to do is … look at sourcing terrific world leading projects and then — in the way a venture capitalist shops around a good investment — shop them around to the different sources of financing. We're not seeking new money for this (but) we're not alone in the trenches."

While it's still too early to estimate how much money Canada will bring to the table, Rothschild says the size of the funding pot should become clearer in the coming weeks.

The culmination of discussions between the three countries is expected to lead to establishment of a three-country research consortium and a trilateral call for proposals (CFP) using existing bilateral agreements. The first CFP as well as terms and conditions will be unveiled this November at the Yangling Agricultural Fair with the potential for funding to flow as by early-to-mid 2010. Perhaps most important is the role to be played by the Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Industries Demonstration Zone (an international R&D collaboration park in Yangling China) — the site of the inaugural trilateral roundtable on agriculture and agri-food sciences last November.

"We've agreed to the notion that the Yangling Industrial Park will serve as advantages for the three countries. The Chinese have put a lot of money into the park. It's like a massive MaRS centre for agri-technologies," says Rothschild. "The Chinese are trying to market Yangling as the Silicon Valley of agri-technologies. In fact, the reason they're so supportive of this (agreement) is because Israel is world renowned for breakthroughs in agri-tech and so is Canada … thanks to the network of labs that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has had for decades."

The declaration includes a provision for some of the initial incubation and commercialization projects to be conducted in the Tangling park through the creation of a China-Canada-Israel International Agriculture S&T Cooperation Park,although each country will have input on determining the location of subsequent R&D.

The Ottawa roundtable builds upon the initial progress made in Yangling last November and focused on three key deliverables: priorities for R&D cooperation, decision-making processes and collaborative mechanisms. The intent of the three founding partners is to expand the agreement to other nations. At the Ottawa roundtable, Brazil, India and New Zealand were granted observer status and other countries have expressed interest in participating.

International Trade minister Stockwell Day addressed the opening session of the roundtable and asserted that — through scientific and technological advances — today's scientists and innovators have disproved the theory by 19th century scholar Robert Malthus that unchecked population growth would outstrip the ability of the earth to adequately feed itself.

"There are challenges to the environment, there are challenges to cost. Not all nations and not all people can afford the development to take place. Through these types of cooperative ventures, there can be great hope for tomorrow and feeding the world in a healthy, environmentally sustainable way," says Day. "You literally are changing the face of the planet."

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