A Follow-Up Letter To Members From CSGA President: Next Steps For The CSGA
Dear Members,
In my August 28, 2020 letter, I shared the CSGA Board of Directors’ initial perspective on the Seeds Canada amalgamation vote outcome. I indicated then that we faced two options: resume amalgamation discussions or concentrate our energies on CSGA renewal and modernization. I also noted that our choice of which option to pursue would depend on our members’ views and those of our Seeds Canada partners.
Since then, our partners have advised us that they will be proceeding with their own amalgamation initiative. Therefore, the resumption of discussions on any future seed association consolidation involving CSGA is not a short-term option. Whether it becomes an option will depend on our Board receiving strong supportive signals from our membership and our partners. In the interim, the CSGA Board will move ahead with the CSGA 2.0 project – essentially our version of the National Seed Organization concept embodied in the Seeds Canada proposal. First and foremost, the CSGA 2.0 project will respond to our members’ and other stakeholders’ clearly stated support for a “single window” pedigreed seed certification service for Canada and a stronger voice for members.
As the CSGA 2.0 project unfolds, we will work with our members, clients, seed and agriculture value chain partners, and governments to build consensus for system change where it is needed and implement it where and when we are able. The Next Generation Seed System proposal, developed with our Seed Synergy partners and our current Strategic Plan, has provided us with a starting point for the CSGA 2.0 project. While a single National Seed Organization institutional model of the exact type envisaged in the Seeds Canada proposal may not be achievable in the foreseeable future, other modernization objectives and models may be.
Canada has a world-class pedigreed seed certification system. Enabled by new digital and genetic technologies and supported by a modern regulatory framework designed to serve all Canadian Agriculture, much can be achieved together. In fact, the CFIA (with AAFC support) has just initiated the first phase of its long-awaited Seed Regulatory Modernization process. CSGA is at the table, but we are one of many on the newly established Seed Regulatory Modernization Working Group, so effective partnerships and alliances will continue to be key success factors going forward.
This fall, our Board and Committees, in consultation with our Branches, will be revisiting the collective efforts that brought us to this point. Over the late fall and winter months, we will confirm our Association’s strategic direction, ongoing modernization plans, and the form and objectives of the CSGA 2.0 project with you. In parallel, we will complete a comprehensive root cause analysis of the CSGA amalgamation vote results to identify the factors that most influenced members’ voting decisions. In the process, we will reach out to all members – those who voted and those who did not – to help inform that analysis.
Fully understanding what you and other stakeholders need from the seed system of which we are the original stewards is of critical importance. Once-in-a-generation changes to that system are being contemplated. Your Board is ready to engage, and I look forward to the next six months as we set our course together.
Sincerely,
Joe Rennick
President