Looking to the future:
An interview with Owen McAuley

From CAPI Update, Winter 2009

Owen McAuley is a CAPI board member. He has had a distinguished career
as a Manitoba farmer and member of numerous agricultural review panels.
Mr. McAuley served as Vice-Chair of the Manitoba Farm Mediation Board
for 11 years.

What are the major challenges facing the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector?

The sector must sort out where we can be competitive in the global marketplace. With the new players like Brazil becoming a factor, our costcomparable advantage in commodity exports is getting lost. Today, people are looking for safer, healthier, and identity-preserved food. People want to know where their food is coming from, and there is more demand for safe food. We are recognized around the world for highquality food, so we need to focus on that strength.

What does the sector need to do to adapt to the future?

We have to look at the long-term alternatives to our traditional products like grain. For example, Pulse Canada has done some work looking at the positive health impacts of pulses. We need to turn that research into marketable products. We have to stop thinking about protecting what we had yesterday, and develop new opportunities for tomorrow.

How can CAPI help?

CAPI is not tied to any one sector, nor any section of the production chain, be it at the primary level or retail. So we are in a position to independently stand back and assess the prospects of the entire sector both in terms of what we’re producing, and throughout the value chain.

Where should the sector be in 5-10 years?

If we are going to be self-sustaining, especially on the export side, we must expand into more valueadded production and produce a wider variety of products that draw a premium from consumers within Canada, the U.S., and countries afar. We need to focus on our competitive advantage. But we need the right regulations, and we need a set of international rules that take the risk out of trade disputes, so the industry can have some predictability. In the next 5-10 years, CAPI can work on providing evidence-based research that shows where the sector needs to go, and how to get there to ensure a competitive industry for Canada.