Merger taking root

From the latest Dalhousie magazine.

How can we make our food supply safer? Is eating local the best option? As our climate changes, how can farmers adapt to shifting weather conditions? How can Atlantic Canadian food producers gain a competitive edge in improving their crops and agri-food products? And, on a planet that produces more than enough food to feed us all, why do a billion people still go hungry?

The questions range from micro to macro, from local to global, but all centre on agriculture.

“In the coming century, there will be no bigger issue on the planet than food,” says Richard Donald, vice-president of research, extension and outreach at Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC). “It is as important or more important than energy.”

Which makes the timing of a merger between NSAC and Dalhousie, announced earlier this spring, auspicious. The merger, which will see NSAC in Truro-Bible Hill become a faculty within Dalhousie University while maintaining its distinct campus, is effective September 1.

A history of collaboration

“We’re building on a history of collaboration,” says Susan Spence Wach, associate vice-president academic at Dalhousie and leader of the merger transition team. Prior to the merger, NSAC was part of the government of Nova Scotia’s Department of Agriculture, but NSAC’s degrees were conferred through Dalhousie and researchers at the two institutions have a history of collaboration.

“At a time when agricultural issues have a renewed prominence globally, to have an agricultural discipline as part of a comprehensive research university like Dalhousie is very valuable,” adds Ms. Spence Wach.

The merger benefits both partners, as well as students, faculty and the broader community says Harold Cook, inaugural dean of agriculture and campus principal for the Faculty of Agriculture post merger.

“One major outcome is the enhanced environment for innovation in educational options and opportunities, as well as for research and improved agricultural delivery,” says Dr. Cook, a graduate of NSAC and a former dean of Dalhousie’s Faculty of Medicine. “All are enhanced by the pooling of the talents at both institutions. There is strength in numbers and in combined research.”

Practical benefits

So what does that mean in practical terms?

For students, the merger could mean greater flexibility in course options and possible expansion of course offerings at the Truro-Bible Hill campus. For faculty, operating under one umbrella will bring improved opportunities for collaborative research and funding, with fewer administrative barriers. And for Atlantic Canadian agricultural producers and agri-food businesses, there will be new opportunities to tap into the combined resources of the two institutions.

For instance, the agriculture expertise at NSAC combined with the food sciences and engineering expertise at Dalhousie could allow for more comprehensive consideration of the challenges that Nova Scotia fruit growers and wineries face, says Ms. Spence Wach. “Together, we hope to be even more responsive to local agricultural needs than we have been individually.”

That kind of industry-based research is a particular strength of the NSAC team, says Dr. Donald.

“While NSAC represents about 10 per cent of the research funding that Dal does, what that number doesn’t tell you is that we have much greater success proportionally in industry-funded research. There is an opportunity for us to be a leader within Dal on this kind of partnership, and I think that’s something significant that we bring to the table.”

At the same time, Dr. Donald points to Dalhousie’s success in managing international collaborations and large international research clusters as an opportunity for building on NSAC’s existing efforts in international research.

Addressing global problems

But the synergies aren’t limited to the hard sciences, says Dr. Donald.

“If you look at the problems we face and will face in agriculture and food, they involve social science aspects as well: global trade, access to trade, development of markets and legal, business and social issues,” he says. “All are areas where Dalhousie can add to our understanding.”

Ms. Spence Wach agrees. “The kinds of complex and multi-faceted agricultural issues that we face – at the community, national and global levels – need multi-disciplinary expertise to address them, and the merger positions us to do that,” she says.