Good Fruit Grower

March 2012

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B.C. growers propose apple agency A new provincial agency would collect and distribute funds for apple research and promotion. by Terry Edwards B Kirpal Boparai, president of the B.C. Fruit Growers' Association, says his priority is to get money into growers' pockets. ritish Columbia, Canada, apple growers took an initial step towards establishing a national apple and promotion agency, and potential future regulated marketing, at the B.C. Fruit Growers' Association's annual convention in Kelowna in January. Delegates at the convention voted to support the first phase of the program, a provincial Apple Research and Promotion Agency. Delegates also approved a plebiscite requiring 65 percent of growers registered with the association to vote by March 8 in favor of the agency. "What has been proposed by the BCFGA is the establish- ment of a provincial research and promotion agency that would act solely as a granting agency for both research and promotional/marketing activities," past president Joe Sardinha said in his executive report to growers at the convention. Council A new ARPA council would include up to three apple growers (one of whom must be an organic grower), as well as one or two members at large, one member from the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Summerland, British Columbia, and a representative of the Canadian government. The council would not undertake projects, but would fund projects for the Okanagan Tree Fruits Cooperative, BCFGA, or other industry groups. The proposal has a potential to raise $1.4 million for apple promotion and research, funds raised by a levy on apple producers of up to .09 cents a pound for fresh apples and .02 cents a pound for processed fruit. The levy would be collected at the first point of sale of fruit, typically the packing house, but could also be another sales agency or a retail outlet. Packing houses and processors would be responsible for reporting, col- lecting, and forwarding the levies, but growers selling direct to retail or wholesale outlets or processors would have to pay the levy directly to the council. The provincial ARPA would be a small organization whose function would be to get research and develop- ment funds provided by growers into the hands of those individuals and organizations best able to fulfill industry strategic priorities in research and development. Its board of directors would organize priority-setting sessions and adjudicate applications for research and promotion activities. Coordinated approach The short-term benefit of the agency would be to move the industry forward in a coordinated rather than a splintered approach to research and marketing. It would also be a method of maintaining a comprehensive grower registry with the ability to levy all producers for well- defined purposes. "Currently, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick have such systems in place," Sardinha said. Growers in Nova Scotia likely would follow suit if B.C. growers approve this step. The long-term objective, Sardinha said, is to pursue the concept of regulated marketing as a means to secure market protection. "As a first step, before regulated marketing can be con- sidered, the industry must demonstrate there is a system of discipline within the province," he said. "If the tree fruit industry supports the concept and is successful in its implementation, there exists an opportu- nity to form a national research and promotion agency with the other apple-producing provinces. Those provinces have already expressed strong support for a national agency. "At this stage, the national apple industry could under- take to implement a system of levy collection on imported apples. This would double the funding cur- rently collected in each region, generating considerable new funding for apple research and promotion." 34 MARCH 1, 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com TERRY EDWARDS

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