Issues in Contemporary Agriculture:
Economics and Innovation
Report
The Bioeconomy to 2030, Designing a Policy Agenda, Main Findings and Policy Conclusions, OECD, 2009.
In the News
Canadian Agriculture in 2008: An Overview of Key Events
Report by Bishnu Saha and Verna Mitura, Statistics Canada, November 2009
The year 2008 was a good year for Canada's grain and oilseed producers. However, livestock producers, particularly hog farmers, felt a cost-price squeeze due to rising feed costs and virtually flat market prices. Production and inventory of both hogs and cattle fell significantly. Read more
Food Scarcity and Prices Likely To Rise Without Infusion of Ag Research Dollars, Economists Predict
(University of California, Davis Press Release, September 29, 2009) Food around the world is likely to become scarcer and more expensive if the United States and other developing countries don't bolster their investment in agricultural research, warns a team of economists from UC Davis and the University of Minnesota. Read more
Report Ties Improving Farm Income to Improving Foods
(Country Guide, August 20, 2009) Canadians' chronic health woes and their farmers' slim incomes call for closer ties between health and agriculture policy and sharper focus on development of healthier food products, a new report urges. Read more
StatsCan Study on the Bioproducts Industry
(Statistics Canada, June 11, 2009) Between 2003 and 2006, the number of Canadian bioproduct firms increased slightly from 232 to 239, but bioproduct revenues and the number of people employed in these activities declined. Read more.
New Chair in Agri-Food Innovation and Regulation as UWO
(Richard Ivey School of Business Press Release, March 31, 2009) Last spring, Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced a federal contribution of over $2 million to Ivey through the Agricultural Adaptation Council to create a research capability through a well-resourced Faculty Chair of Agri-Food Innovation and Regulation. It is now confirmed that Professor David Sparling will join the Richard Ivey School of Business in this new role, effective August 1, 2009. Read more.
Agriculture Needs a Great Leap Forward
(by David Malone, President, International Development Research Centre, in the Globe and Mail, March 3, 2009) Many people, particularly in the world's poorest regions, were gripped by food shortages and price spikes in 2007 and 2008. There were many reasons for this: Global grain stocks had been dropping for years; prices of some commodities (such as rice) had been rising; global demographics had increased pressure on both stocks and prices; and economic success in much of the developing world, including China and India, was altering eating habits. The stampede into biofuels to supplement international oil reserves also handicapped food production.
Food - and oil - prices subsided late in 2008. The temptation now is to forget all about earlier developments. But this would be deeply unwise.
Canada is closely associated with agriculture internationally, having contributed over many decades to significant research that supports agricultural productivity growth worldwide. So, looking ahead, what should we be worrying about? Read more
Archer Daniels Midland CEO Outlines Ag Growth
(from AgProfessional Weekly,February 2, 2009, Source: Archer Daniels Midland Company) Agriculture can help meet growing needs for food, feed, fiber, and clean, renewable fuels, if industry and governments work together to stimulate productivity and improve the infrastructure that connects crops with global markets.
That is the central message Patricia Woertz, chairman, CEO and president of Archer Daniels Midland Company, will share with global business leaders, government officials and other leading authorities in remarks to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Woertz will participate in the Consumer Industry Governor's private dinner discussion on "A New Vision for Agriculture" on Jan. 30, and will speak on a public panel, "Unlocking the Food Chain," on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009. Read more
New University of Guelph Centre Will 'Revolutionize Agriculture'
(University of Guelph Press Release, October 3, 2008)
The University of Guelph today officially opened the Bioproducts Discovery and Development
Centre. Here researchers will revolutionize the use of agricultural products, turning soy, wheat, corn and
other crops into everything from car parts and furniture to fuel. Read more
NCLE Shifts Focus from Building to Research
(Farmscape.ca, October 4, 2008) The University of Manitoba has officially acknowledged the transition of the National Centre for
Livestock and the Environment (NCLE) from the infrastructure building phase to the active research phase. Read more
AIC Discussion Papers
AIC has published two major discussion papers since 2005:
Redefing Agriculture: Sustaining Agriculture in Canada through Innovation and Diversification
Redéfinir l'agriculture : Assurer la durabilité de l'agriculture au Canada par l'innovation et la diversification
Published February 2007
Published 2005
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