Thank you very much.
Honourable members of Parliament, let me begin by congratulating you on holding hearings on the important topic of meeting consumer demands in this great country of Canada, and by thanking you for the invitation to present today. We very much appreciate this opportunity.
Canada has a reputation for producing the highest-quality food ingredients in the world. The Canadian International Grains Institute, CIGI, is proud to have worked with the industry for the last 40 years to ensure consumers' demands are met when they use Canadian products. As a result of our partnership with farmers, the Government of Canada, the Canadian Wheat Board, and many other organizations in the Canadian grain industry, we have witnessed the development of a brand that is known and recognized worldwide for delivering a product that consumers desire.
What I'd like to talk about today is CIGI's approach to meeting customers' demands and the importance of the Growing Forward 2 program to address these needs. CIGI is actively and personally engaged with customers of Canadian crops on a daily basis and has provided training and support to 35,000 customers from 115 countries. This has been facilitated by support through federal funding programs as well as direct marketing support provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
The initial and very uniquely Canadian approach to meeting consumer demands began in 1972, when Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Grain Commission, and the Canadian Wheat Board chose to form an independent institute that would provide marketing support before and after the sales of wheat. This independent institute was tasked with addressing customers' needs so that they can in turn produce products that meet consumers' demands. This institute has become a model of how to meet customers' demands. It is recognized all over the world, and it has expanded to apply this model to all of Canada's field crops.
This institute, of course, is CIGI. We are solely focused on understanding customers' needs and working to address them.
We believe CIGI's success in helping the industry address consumers' needs and in developing a well-recognized brand is directly related to its strategy to meet these demands. This includes four key components: development and maintenance of long-term trusted relationships with global buyers, processors, and food manufactures, creating products for consumers and their countries; supporting Canadian producers by providing them with an understanding of their customers' needs and requirements; provision of the highest-quality, unbiased technical support before and after the sale, which creates buyer loyalty; and finally, application of research resulting in innovations that create more profitable opportunities for the entire value chain.
Meeting customers' needs is a challenging task, and it is only truly possible if the entire value chain is involved. Canada's success is based on a spirit of true collaboration that brings the required expertise to the table in a highly efficient manner. To meet consumer demands for Canadian crops, CIGI works actively with many companies and organizations across the country.
The Government of Canada has been and continues to be one of our largest partners in this effort. CIGI works closely with the trade commissioners in the various posts around the world, as well as with many other staff in the market and industry services branch of AAFC, to deliver the support the buyers require. AAFC has been a significant financial partner, and has provided CIGI the resources to ensure that Canada's products are well understood and used to their fullest potential.
Without this funding and support from the various government agencies, Canada would have lost market opportunities, and the brand of Canada products would likely not exist today. AAFC has supported approximately 50% of the costs of addressing market needs, and it is essential that this continues in the Growing Forward 2 program. The investments to date have paid large dividends for Canada and will continue to do so in the future. Last year saw $1,733 in sales for every dollar that AAFC invested in market development and support through CIGI—a very wise and financially responsible investment.
CIGI actively engages with companies and individuals from across the supply chain to ensure the resources are available to assist Canada's customers. Not only does CIGI develop long-term relationships with buyers and processors as a result of our training and support, but agencies, farmers, and grain companies are given the opportunity to develop these relationships as well.
This is a uniquely Canadian approach, and CIGI is proud to be leading this effort. Support from the Government of Canada provides the opportunity for this to be of the greatest benefit for all of Canada and Canadian producers and processors.
Consumer demands are constantly changing, and it is essential that our industry is able to adapt to meet these needs. CIGI believes it is only through innovation in ingredient applications that many of these demands can be met, but it takes a conscious effort to ensure that the innovation pathway is effective.
CIGI approaches its role in farmer and industry goods with the attitude that the good ideas we generate from our research should be used to their maximum extent to improve the market opportunity for Canada's field crops. At CIGI, we see research and innovation as taking a product, a good idea, or a need, and creating profitable market opportunities that meet consumers' needs. We believe this will drive many of the opportunities in the future.
It is CIGI's sole objective to see innovation applied to ensure that consumers' demands are being met. Being an active member of Food Tech Canada, an organization that coordinates the efforts of the many Canadian food development centres, helps us achieve that goal. These food centres are highly capable and work diligently to meet consumers' needs and drive innovations to market.
However, at this time CIGI is the only member of Food Tech Canada that is directly supported by the Government of Canada, and as such we strive to ensure that national interests are considered by the various centres. We believe this type of collaboration on innovation and product development is in the best interests of Canada and its consumers, and we therefore suggest that the Growing Forward 2 program should support these efforts.
In conclusion, it is CIGI's hope that the Growing Forward 2 programming will form the backbone of AAFC's next five years of industry market development support, that it will be focused on developing long-term relationships with customers, that it will support the commercial implementation of innovations that create profitable opportunities by meeting consumers' demands, and that it will continue to support the strong brand Canada has developed.
Thank you.