Thank you, Mr. Chairman and the committee.
My name is Brian Otto and I am chairman of the Barley Council of Canada. I farm east of Warner, Alberta.
I'd like to thank the committee for inviting me to present to you on behalf of the Barley Council of Canada. For those of you not familiar with Canada's national barley council, we represent farmers from across Canada as well as the entire supply chain for barley, including members of the research and life sciences community, the malting and brewing sector, the feed and livestock industry, and select grain-handling companies. We are the only national organization that has every stakeholder at the table. We represent every aspect of the value chain, and it is our mission to work together as a value chain to ensure long-term profitability and sustainable growth of Canada's barley industry. This is why we are so pleased to have the opportunity to tell you why we believe that Bill C-18 will positively impact profitability of the barley industry in Canada. Bill C-18, the agriculture growth act, outlines amendments to a number of different acts.
I would now like to comment on the proposed changes to the Plant Breeders' Rights Act as outlined in the bill. The Barley Council of Canada supports the government's intentions to amend the Plant Breeders' Rights Act in order to ensure alignment with the convention of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, better known as UPOV 91. Canada is currently the only one of nine OECD countries that has yet to modernize its plant breeders' rights protection to be compliant with the 1991 convention. We believe that the proposed amendments will strengthen the intellectual property rights for plant breeding in Canada, in turn encouraging greater investment and innovation in research and variety development. The barley value chain in Canada recognizes a tremendous potential that will result from the recent trade deals negotiated between Canada and other regions such as the European Union and South Korea.
To ensure that we are well positioned to take full advantage of these opportunities while we strive to meet the increasing global demand for our quality Canadian barley, it is imperative that we ensure that our plant breeders' rights are aligned with those of our global trading partners. We are confident that this increased investment will ensure that Canadian farmers have better access to new and improved seed varieties that have potential to enhance crop yields, improve disease and drought resistance, and meet global trade demands.
It is also important to note that there are no restrictions on who can be a plant breeder. Plant breeders' rights are not limited to corporations and can be held by publicly funded research organizations, government entities, and educational institutions. In fact, 45% of all protected agricultural varieties have been developed at public institutions that receive royalties on seed sales allowing them to continue to research. Approximately $2.9 million is reinvested in AAFC research stations.
Another key consideration in moving from UPOV 78 to UPOV 91 is the fact that UPOV 91 contains provisions that allow for inclusion of farmers' exemption or privilege. This is not guaranteed under UPOV 78. The Barley Council of Canada supports the inclusion of this privilege. As the regulations of our bill are developed, we will continue to advocate to ensure that farmers' ability to save seed is not limited in any way.
To summarize my comments here today, as part of our mandate to ensure the long-term profitability of the barley value chain in Canada, the Barley Council of Canada supports the passage of this bill.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to you today.