JANUARY 2018 GERMINATION.CA 19 ACCORDING TO THE GREEN PAPER, CANADA’S SEED SYSTEM IS IN DANGER OF IMPLODING DUE TO A NUMBER OF FACTORS, AMONG THEM THE FACT THAT OUR SYSTEM IS AN OLD AND ARGUABLY OUTDATED ONE. “The competitive position of the Canadian seed industry and agriculture sector is strong, but its poten- tial remains constrained by barriers to entry for new innovation, and the lack of a system and mechanism for facilitating reasonable returns on plant breeding investment to key crop sectors,” the paper states. In addition, it argues that while Canada has an excellent national system assuring and tracing the genetic identity and origin of seed in the marketplace, seed sold as common seed does not provide these benefits, nor contribute directly to the seed system. These factors, the green paper says, limit both domestic and export market-driven growth for Canadian producers, and if not addressed will place Canada at a productivity disadvantage relative to its international competitors. As a result, the green paper argues that a revamped seed system is needed in Canada, one that delivers: •  Improved profitability, which will in turn stimu- late the investment needed to deliver a steady stream of new product innovation and growth; •  A more efficient governance model for the seed system, where stakeholder organizations work in tight collaboration with each other and govern- ment in potentially new configurations; •  Regulations that make sense and that are easier to understand, navigate, and comply with; •  A system that better adapts to change, and responds and adjusts to sector needs on an ongoing basis; •  A competitive environment that has space for busi- nesses of all sizes to be successful and competitive, not just the biggest players with the most resources. “In this context, the case for change is clear. To realize its full potential, Canada needs to rethink the core policies, legislative and regulatory frameworks, and associated institutional arrangements that make up the seed system of today. The rules and practices simply have to change, to deliver a more responsive, transpar- ent, and customer-focused system, and to make Canada an attractive investment market for both large and small businesses.” In addition, the paper says industry organizations that currently share responsibility for seed system manage- ment with government need to assume collective respon- sibility (and organize themselves accordingly) for the success of the next-generation seed sector. What if these changes don’t occur? The green paper warns the industry will pay the price down the road because: •  Where new innovation does occur, it will too often be slow to enter the market, hurting not just the seed industry, but the entire Canadian agricultural value chain that depends on innovation to remain competitive in a global marketplace. •  The key industry organizations upon which the seed and agriculture sectors depend for leadership will remain loosely aligned and less effective than they could be, in the process passing on the costs of their lower efficiency and effectiveness to their members and to the sector as a whole. •  The federal government will likely continue its “ongoing piecemeal withdrawal of support” to a seed system for which they will continue to be accountable, while shifting the costs of an increas- ingly unsustainable model to industry “until it col- lapses under its own weight.” FIRST LOOK: SEED SYNERGY GREEN PAPER MAKINGTHECASEFORCHANGE “IFWEDONOTSEIZETHEMOMENT,WEWILLPAY THEPRICEDOWNTHEROAD.” –SeedSynergygreenpaper