CWB Alliance

Make no mistake, the endgame of Seeds Canada is to increase profits throughout the seed industry. But those profits are actually costs to commercial grain producers. And it is not only commercial grain producers who should be questioning this amalgamation. Will the local seed grower be able to compete with multinational seed companies under this new scenario, especially if Seed Canada is controlled by industry? What will be the costs levied on seed growers for services like crop inspections if those costs are no longer regulated by government? While the CSGA used to be the voice of the seed industry, will that voice be watered down by the amalgamation, or changed completely with the addition of the much more powerful voice of CropLife into the seed industry?

August 1st 2020 marks the 8th anniversary of one of the great economic tragedies in Canadian history. Today, everyone should have 20:20 hindsight and see the magnitude of the losses to farmers and the Canadian economy caused by the destruction of the CWB. Now farmers are dominated by a few multinational grain companies that have taken billions out of Canada’s economy at farmers’ expense. Shame on Stephen Harper and Gerry Ritz. #canadianhistory #farmers #foodsecurity

If Seed Synergy’s amalgamation plans succeed, the independent seed grower will soon be a thing of the past, and the democratically accountable public regulation process will be turned inside out, with self-interested corporations regulating farmers instead. #canada #seeds #seedsovereignty

In 2018, five seed industry groups collaborating under the name Seed Synergy published a White Paper, setting out their vision to increase seed companies’ revenues and cut their own costs at the expense of farmers, public plant breeders, and consumers. They aim to change Canada’s seed regulatory system to prevent farmers from freely using their own seed, ensure agribusiness corporations control seed breeding, and replace public-interest quality control measures with buyer beware mechanisms. The proposed Seeds Canada mega-group is a means to this end. Voting on whether or not to proceed with this amalgamation is open to seed growers from July 15 until August 27.

The farmer-directed and farmer-funded crop development commissions are ringing an alarm bell calling for urgent action to proceed with this year's public plant breeding research season: Urgent action is required to save the 2020 AAFC field, lab, and greenhouse activities for wheat and barley research projects. This farmer-funded research is critical to the competitiveness of Canada’s agriculture industry and cancelling project activities will have repercussions. Many of the current projects funded by the CWRC, CBRC, and individual crop commissions are multi-year, multi-site, and multi-cooperator endeavors. The impact of disruptions to this work needs to be considered on a project-to-project and program-to-program basis to minimize the loss of both future productivity and the potential contributions of previous projects.

As it stands, Bill C-4 is a Trojan Horse designed to make it easier for grain companies to pay farmers less for their grain. Inserting several unnecessary clauses and fast-tracking it through the House just weeks before planned consultations on revisions to the Canada Grain Act is an end-run around the public process that side-lines farmers and is contrary to the government’s claimed commitment to transparency, said Stewart Wells, National Farmers Union (NFU) 2nd Vice President. We’re asking the Minister to do the right thing and correct these mistakes before the final vote.