Good afternoon, everyone. I thank you for the opportunity to appear before the standing committee.
Todd Stewart, who is the board member from Manitoba on the Pulse Canada board, as well as the six other board members of Pulse Canada, representing grower groups and processors from across Canada, appreciate the opportunity to talk to you today to give some of our views about government policy framework that will guide programming in this sector for the next five years.
I'd like to start by saying Pulse Canada was very pleased to hear that ministers have agreed to seek the authority needed to continue the existing non-business risk management programming for up to one year. There are two important messages we would like to leave with you regarding the extension of these programs.
The first message is that timelines are already very tight. Once the authority for continuation is in place, organizations like Pulse Canada have to work with the department to work on applications, approvals, and getting agreements signed. This has been a very lengthy process under the ag policy framework. All of these elements need to be done on or before April 1, as some small organizations or those with large programs under the policy framework rely on advance payments and timely payments on claims. Timely cashflow under these programs is important for obvious things such as salary and administration, but it's also important to allow sufficient time to ensure work isn't rushed at the end of the extension because of delays at the start of the program.
The second message we want to leave with you is this. By extending the non-business risk management programs, the federal, provincial, and territorial governments are ensuring that we continue with these strong government-industry partnerships. I want to highlight several of these partnerships and in doing so signal the programs the pulse industry feels are important to continue in going forward.
The Canadian agriculture and food international program, CAFI, is a very good example of a government-industry partnership. CAFI has helped the pulse industry to address market access barriers, enter new markets, and promote the Canadian pulse industry during a time of rapid expansion. The government will match up to 50% of qualifying claims. This has allowed the money that is invested by grower groups in the trade to go a lot further on some of the high-risk but high-reward activities.
The advance in the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food program has played an important role in funding industry-led initiatives. By focusing on building capacity within the industry, positioning the industry to capture market opportunities, and working to strengthen the ag sector, this program has been of enormous help to the pulse sector.
While farmers may be the first to see the benefit that has come from funding for reduced-risk and minor-use registration programs for crop protection products, there have been benefits for all Canadians as new low-risk crop protection products come to market and as farmers are helped with pest risk management practices that lead to improvements in sustainable production. Funding for these programs needs to be increased.
As an example from the pulse sector, funding for the development of a grasshopper identification booklet for farmers helped them identify which species of grasshoppers were not likely to cause major damage to their crops. By adopting a practice of spraying only when needed, they were able to ensure more sustainable production.
Another example I'd like to cite is the funding under this program that has allowed the use of some new technology on genetic resistance for a bean disease, which eliminates seed treatment, again providing benefits to the environment and all Canadians.
First of all, with limited time, I want to focus on the science and innovation program that was introduced under the agricultural policy framework. This program is having an enormous influence on the direction of the pulse industry and is a great example of an industry-government partnership that has it right. This program needs to be maintained in its present form, because it's working, and I want to tell you why this program is working so well.
Research is the key to innovation. To make money in agriculture, the research results have to be commercialized. Since 1885, Agriculture Canada has focused on production research, because more tons mean more money, and we have a rich history of innovation on the production side in our industry.
However, the science and innovation program has focused not on the tons of production but on where those tons might be sold for more money. This program is helping the pulse industry to focus on innovation at the market side and to think beyond a commodity focus.
Let me give you an example: pulses can be sold into the food market, the feed market for animals, or into the bio-product market.
The food market for pulses is strong in countries like India, but North Americans eat very few pulses. With funding from the science and innovation program, the pulse industry sat down with the food industry, medical researchers, and health professionals and asked what should be done to use the attributes of pulses--high protein, low fat, low glycemic index, high fibre--to address such health issues as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and more.
The approach of agriculture sitting down with other players in the chain seems very straightforward and logical. However, the reality is that agriculture has looked primarily at increasing production for traditional markets.
We have been to India because they already buy pulses, but in the pulse industry we maybe haven't looked as closely as we should have at areas where we could create new demand.
The science and innovation program has invested in linking agriculture and health issues and has invested in linking agriculture and environment issues. These are very good examples of high-risk, high-reward program investments and very good examples of linking research with business innovation.
Today the pulse industry is working with medical researchers and, importantly, has a list of research priorities that have been jointly developed by the pulse industry, the food industry, and the medical community. This list of research priorities is a blueprint for all kinds of funders. And because the people who put food on grocery shelves--the food and ingredient companies--have been part of putting our research priorities together, we are fairly confident that research will lead to innovation and that this innovation will be commercialized.
It's also important to note that this program has attracted interest from non-agricultural research funding groups, specifically from the health and medical community. This is the kind of agricultural partnership we need. I think it's one that the industry can best deliver by bringing together not just departments of agriculture from across Canada, but health interests, academia from around the world, and the people who will be instrumental in commercializing research results--namely, the food and ingredient companies.
In closing, we want to stress the value of continuity in programs under Growing Forward. Market demand has to drive research, and we need a strong industry link at every step. The industry has to be able to raise its game in order to play its new role in the area of health and environment. We have to promote the new role for agriculture and enter these markets where we're well suited to play a bigger role.
The continuity must exist from research ideas through to grocery shelves, and finally to the dinner table or the pickup window at a fast-food restaurant, and then back to the research community. Growing Forward will be a success if it continues to enable industry. Government is needed as a partner, but there are some strong arguments to suggest that industry needs to provide the direction.
I expect that this committee will hear a lot more about pulses under Growing Forward. We're off to a great start in having pulses play a much bigger role in addressing health issues of importance to all Canadians. But perhaps more importantly, pulses will play a huge role in agriculture's role in sustainability and the environment. Pulses fix nitrogen, and in doing so save huge amounts of natural gas, resulting from the reduction and elimination of the need for commercial fertilizer produced from natural gas.
So let's take this great story we have on the environment and tell the world. Let's do our homework on health issues.
If Growing Forward is a success, Mr. Chairman, you're going to have to change the name of this committee to the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Health and the Environment, because agriculture is about healthy people and a healthy planet.
Thank you.