Cut now, pay later for lack of vision

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The Canadian Grain Commission building at 303 Main Street. (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES) Photo Store

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The Cereal Research Centre (above) is closing, the Canadian Grain Commission (right) is undergoing changes and the Canadian Wheat Board is losing workers. The changes were initiated by the federal government. (PHOTOS BY MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ) Photo Store

Four years ago, the future looked pretty bright for Winnipeg's spot as an anchor for cereal research in Canada.

Federal politicians were in town, spouting off about plans to develop a centre of excellence that would house all of the good scientific work by the federal Cereal Research Centre, the Canadian International Grains Institute (CIGI), the Canadian Grain Commission's Grain Research Laboratory, the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre and the University of Manitoba.

Today, the door is swinging on the way out for up to 80 per cent of the employees at the Canadian Wheat Board, which was one of the core funders for CIGI. The Cereal Research Centre is to close by 2014, and the Canadian Grain Commission is facing changes that could ultimately see many of its services outsourced to the private sector.

Rather than a centre, Winnipeg's critical mass in cereal expertise is rapidly becoming a shell. It is tough to quantify the value that culminated from the interaction between science and industry in this city over time, but it was real and it was significant. The 89-year-old Cereal Research Centre produced the varieties that earned Canada its reputation for being a breadbasket and made it a global leader in genetics resistant to rust, a fungal disease that caused huge crop losses in the early part of the last century.

Employees have been ordered not to speak to the media and federal officials are vague when it comes to the number of jobs to be lost. However, inside sources say 41 positions have been deemed surplus, 51 positions will be moved to Morden, and six to Brandon. In all, AAFC is terminating 689 positions, with 132 of those coming from research.

Senior department official Stephen Morgan Jones told the Manitoba Co-operator the decision to close Winnipeg is mostly about retiring an outdated building.

The Winnipeg lab was identified as being badly in need of an upgrade nearly a decade ago. Morgan Jones says it would have cost $150 million to replace it, money the department simply didn't have. Besides, Morden and Brandon boast relatively new facilities, some of which are underutilized.

That point is tough to argue. And Winnipeg's loss of highly skilled jobs will be Morden and Brandon's gain.

Research will continue on developing varieties resistant to Ug99, a rapidly spreading rust strain first discovered in Uganda in 1999 that has the capability of overwhelming the defences of most varieties of wheat grown in the world. The research will be operated solely out of the Morden facility.

But it is the department's stated objective to concentrate its breeding efforts on germplasm, selling promising lines to the private sector for development and commercialization rather than its past practice of commercializing its own that makes outside and inside observers nervous.

"Anyone (who) believes that the same amount of research and development will occur will be sorely mistaken," said one affected employee.

Even the Grain Growers of Canada, which was a big fan of the federal government's change to the Canadian Wheat Board, is upset. It wasn't opposed to closing some facilities, it wanted any savings to be poured back into building Canada's human capacity in research.

"Farmers across Canada are divided on many issues in agriculture, but the one issue we all agree on being important is research," said GGC president Stephen Vandervalk.

"Unfortunately, it looks like the spring wheat program for the black and dark brown soils zones has been slashed by about one-third at a time when the world needs more production," said Vandervalk.

Turning variety development over to the private trade will effectively end farmers' ability to save seed for replanting the following year. Requiring farmers to buy new seed for every crop is the only means the private trade has for recapturing its investment in development, registration and marketing.

True, farmers have mixed opinions on this transition, which has already taken place for other key crops. But more than half of the wheat sown each year still comes out of a bin instead of a bag, so many farmers will find the change onerous as well as expensive.

Plus, the department axed the position of a scientist who focused on improving pesticide application techniques and technology. Given the amount of spraying that takes place, a source of independent advice for farmers has proven invaluable.

The funny thing about this budget is that farm support programs, which essentially prop up the status quo, escaped unscathed. Research, which explores new options for current and future problems, was trimmed. Those dollars saved now could well cost us in the future.

Laura Rance is editor of the Manitoba Co-operator. She can be reached at 792-4382 or by email: laura@fbcpublishing.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 21, 2012 B6