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Canadians overwhelmingly support supply management and homegrown food security

OTTAWA — A recent survey conducted by Abacus Data delves into Canadians’ perspectives on the food system and the value they place on the system of supply management. According to the findings, 9 in 10 Canadians say it’s important to them that the dairy, eggs, chicken and turkey they buy come from Canada. This sentiment is strong across multiple demographics and geographical regions, reflecting a shared belief in the benefits of this approach.

With over 339,000 jobs generated, a staggering $30.1 billion contribution to Canada’s GDP, and an annual infusion of $5.95 billion in tax contributions, supply management ensures not only dependable access to homegrown goods, but a vibrant and prosperous agricultural landscape.

The Abacus survey highlights that 94% of Canadians consider it a ‘good thing’ when they hear that local dairy, poultry and egg products are produced with high standards of food safety and animal care under supply management. Furthermore, a remarkable 92% of Canadians express confidence in the food safety and animal welfare of dairy, chicken, turkey, and eggs produced at home because of supply management. This not only reinforces the trust they have in the system, but also emphasizes their preference for locally produced goods.

Notable findings include:

  • 97% of respondents feel it is important that Canada has strong domestic food supply chains that allow us to produce enough food to feed Canadians year-round; and
  • 94% of Canadians prefer their dairy, eggs, chicken, and turkey products to be produced locally and in Canada under supply management.

It is clear that the majority of Canadians support supply management and recognize its importance. This unanimous data highlights how crucial it is for supply management to be in line with Canadian values and priorities. It also emphasizes the system’s role in ensuring domestic food security and building public confidence in our food supply chain. The findings of the survey confirm that enacting Bill C-282 into law protects what Canadians want, which is homegrown food.

The survey, conducted online with a sample size of 2,000 adult Canadians from November 9 to 12, 2023, provides insights into the importance Canadians attribute to a strong domestic supply of dairy, eggs, chicken, and turkey. For more detailed results from the survey, please click HERE. To learn more about supply management, please click HERE.

Source : Chicken Farmer

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Moving Ag Research Forward Through Collaboration

Video: Moving Ag Research Forward Through Collaboration



BY: Ashley Robinson

It may seem that public and private researchers have different goals when it comes to agricultural research. However, their different strategies can work in tandem to drive agricultural research forward. Public research may focus more on high-risk and applied research with federal or outside funding, while private sector researchers focus more on research application.

“For me, the sweet spot for public private sector research is when we identify problems and collaborate and can use that diverse perspective to address the different aspects of the challenge. Public sector researchers can work on basic science high risk solutions as tools and technologies are developed. They then can work with their private sector partners who prototype solutions,” Mitch Tuinstra, professor of plant breeding and genetics in Purdue University’s Department of Agronomy, said during the Jan. 10 episode of Seed Speaks.

Public researchers they have the flexibility to be more curiosity driven in their work and do discovery research. This is complimentary to private research, which focuses on delivering a product, explained Jed Christianson, canola product design lead for Bayer CropScience, explained during the episode.

“As a seed developer, we worry about things like new crop diseases emerging. Having strong public sector research where people can look into how a disease lifecycle cycle works, how widespread is it and what damage it causes really helps inform our product development strategies,” he added.

It’s not always easy though to develop these partnerships. For Christianson, it’s simple to call up a colleague at Bayer and start working on a research project. Working with someone outside of his company requires approvals from more people and potential contracts.

“Partnerships take time, and you always need to be careful when you're establishing those contracts. For discoveries made within the agreement, there need to be clear mechanisms for sharing credits and guidelines for anything brought into the research to be used in ways that both parties are comfortable with,” Christianson said.

Kamil Witek, group leader of 2Blades, a non-profit that works with public and private ag researchers, pointed out there can be limitations and challenges to these partnerships. While private researchers are driven by being able to make profits and stay ahead of competitors, public researchers may be focused on information sharing and making it accessible to all.

“The way we deal with this, we work in this unique dual market model. Where on one hand we work with business collaborators, with companies to deliver value to perform projects for them. And at the same time, we return the rights to our discoveries to the IP to use for the public good in developing countries,” Witek said during the episode.

At the end of the day, the focus for all researchers is to drive agricultural research forward through combining the knowledge, skills and specializations of the whole innovation chain, Witek added.

“If there's a win in it for me, and there's a win in it for my private sector colleagues in my case, because I'm on the public side, it’s very likely to succeed, because there's something in it for all of us and everyone's motivated to move forward,” Tuinstra said.