The following piece is from our sister publication, Germination.
Subject to member approval, our five associations will amalgamate to create a single national seed organization.
1. Seeds Canada will streamline the services offered by our five associations.
Who are the five associations?
- Canadian Seed Growers’ Association
- Canadian Seed Trade Association
- Canadian Seed Institute
- Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada
- Canadian Plant Technology Agency
2. All current association members will be Seeds Canada members on Day one.
Existing members of the amalgamating seed organizations will all become members of Seeds Canada, and the initial fee structure will reflect what members are currently paying.
The Seeds Canada membership structure will be offered in three classes:
- Business class (entities that derive revenue from activities along the seed sector value chain)
- Affiliate class (entities that do not own an asset that supports the seed sector value chain, but may be engaged in other seed industry activities)
- Professional class (professionals who provide support and/or quality assurance services)
3. Makeup of the Seeds Canada board will ensure all segments of the seed value chain from across the country have a voice at the table.
Composed of 15 directors (moving to an elected 11 directors over time), the board will be made up of minimum one rep from each of Seeds Canada’s seven regions and minimum one rep from each value chain segment (developers, seed trade, growers, testing)
4. Seeds Canada will continue to offer the 36 services that the amalgamating organizations currently provide.
These services will all be delivered with a “single window” approach to enhance efficiency and make it more convenient for members.
The services will be separated into two groupings:
5. There will be no fee changes at first.
Seeds Canada will bring together the financial resources of the five associations. It will be funded through a combination of client service fees and membership fees. Members of the five amalgamating organizations will pay grandfathered fees at inception so that there will be no changes initially. A permanent and equitable fee structure is expected to be put in place within the first two years of Seeds Canada’s operations.
For more info visit seedsynergy.net
