Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA)

The Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA) is a non-profit organization representing the interest of Canadian seed growers, which provide leadership as the only Canadian organization to monitor and certify pedigreed seed for all agricultural crops in Canada except potatoes. The Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA) has been around since 1904.  In the late 1890’s, Canada had very limited agricultural research resources. The federal Experimental Farm system was an extension education and crop evaluation facility without much capacity to improve crop varieties. A handful of dedicated individuals in the federal Department of Agriculture saw the need for improvement in seed stocks that would lead to more profitable crops.

 Canada’s seed industry is recognized and respected around the globe because it ensures mechanical purity, while providing an audit trail that guarantees varietal and genetic identity. It is a system that has given Canada its worldwide reputation as a supplier of quality seed. Canada’s seed growers have a long established history of providing a field-to-table value chain, one that is rooted in identity preservation and quality assurance. They are committed to Canada’s seed system, its standards and methods of producing clean, true-to-variety, high-quality seed. As leaders in the seed industry, the CSGA is involved in new and emerging technologies, discussions on timely and topical issues, procedures and policies to monitor and regulate production, and policies to protect its members both domestically and abroad. The objectives of the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association are:

• To ensure, and certify to, the varietal purity of seed produced by its members and to maintain the pedigree thereof.
• To identify, and certify to, for purposes other than further pedigreeing, the varietal purity of seed produced from superior propagating material.
• To encourage the development and introduction of superior varieties and strains of plants.
• To develop programs which expand the use of Pedigreed Seed for increased domestic crop production and for export.
• Generally to contribute to the establishment and maintenance of high standards in yield and quality of agriculture crops.
• To co-operate with other agencies which have an interest in seed production, promotion and distribution both in Canada and abroad.
• To coordinate the endeavours of Pedigreed seed growers with those of plant breeders and crop producers in general.