2017 Stewart Lane Commemorative Lecture
Posted on Thursday, March 02, 2017
The Agricultural Growth Act and Future of Crop Research in Canada
Richard Gray
Professor and Canadian Grain Policy Chair, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Saskatchewan.
Friday, March 24, 2017
10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
OVC Lifetime Learning Centre Room 1714
Join the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics for a discussion on the future of crop research in Canada.
Free admission, all welcome.
More on Professor Richard Gray’s Talk
Since joining the University of Saskatchewan in 1990, Richard Gray has proven himself as a leading scholar on the economics of agricultural policy. His research has addressed a myriad of policy issues related to international trade, land use, risk production, food safety, nutrition, climate change, food security, GM regulation, agricultural marketing, grain transportation and various aspects of agricultural innovation. For the past decade, Richard has focused on the economics of research, intellectual property management, and innovation systems. He led the Canadian Agricultural Innovation Regulation Network from 2003 to 2013, and has held the Canadian Grain Policy Chair in his home department since 2011. He is a past-president of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society, and was named Fellow of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society in 2010.
Professor Gray’s talk is motived by the observation that despite persistent and widespread documentation of the high returns to agricultural research, Canada, and many other countries, continue to underinvest in public, producer and private crop research. The provisions of the recently passed Agricultural Growth Act (2015) create stronger intellectual property for the breeders of non-GM, non-hybrid crops in Canada. The international experience in Australia, France, and the United Kingdom suggests that while the passage of the Agricultural Growth Act could stimulate additional private investment in the long run, significant short-term investment will only occur with a proactive implementation strategy supported by breeders, producers, and government. Moreover, an effective crop research system also requires the continued provision of public goods by government, and provision of industry goods by producers.