ABSTRACT
In a world of many competing interests for limited funds supporting research for agriculture and food, organic sector stakeholders and funding program managers are faced with a tremendous challenge in defining research priorities. The organic sector encompasses all aspects of agriculture including crops (fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, oilseeds, etc.), livestock (production and welfare of dairy, poultry, beef, pork), not to mention food (storage, handling, processing, packaging, additives), and of course environmental issues (nutrient loading or depletion, sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions, energy intensity, soil conservation, biodiversity) and economic/ marketing issues (consumer/market demand, cost of production, profitability). In each of these areas, the growth and development of the organic sector will depend on its ability to capture existing opportunities, create opportunities through innovation,
2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................7 2.2 Identifying Strategic Research Areas: Considerations .....................................8 2.3 Strategic Priority Planning Process for Organic Research Objectives ........... 10 2.4 Macroenvironmental Scan .............................................................................. 10
2.4.1 Social .................................................................................................. 10 2.4.2 Technological ...................................................................................... 11 2.4.3 Economic ............................................................................................ 13 2.4.4 Environmental .................................................................................... 13 2.4.5 Political/Regulatory ............................................................................ 14
2.5 Prioritization Process ...................................................................................... 15 2.6 Methods for Determining Science Categories, Impact Criteria,
and Weighting ................................................................................................. 15 2.7 Outcomes ........................................................................................................ 18 2.8 Conclusions .....................................................................................................30 References ................................................................................................................ 31
maintain or improve competitiveness, and address barriers. So how do we set priorities for organic research? This chapter will outline the process undertaken to establish research priorities for the organic sector in Canada.
