LONDON,
ON, October 1, 2009 - Whether it's
ethanol for fuel or blueberries to
maintain health, the potential for
bioproduct and agri-food industries is
enormous with the right regulatory and
policy environment, according to David
Sparling, a new agricultural expert at
Ivey Business School.
Sparling is
Ivey's new Chair of Agri-Food Innovation
and Regulation – a position created via
a $2-million grant from Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada through the
Agricultural Adaptation Council – and
will research issues facing agriculture,
food and bio-based industries.
Recent
research from Sparling focuses on the
growth of Canada's bioproducts sector,
based on surveys from Statistics Canada
from 2003 to 2006. It revealed that,
although the number of bioproduct firms
increased in Canada, the number of
people employed at such firms and
revenues declined. Sparling attributes
the loss to a lack of policy and
direction in Canada with respect to
bioproducts.
"The key
to change is creating a good policy
environment to support the industry," he
said. "Now that we're seeing new
government programs and support, I
expect that the results will be
dramatically different in the next
survey."
Sparling's current research focuses on
the challenges firms face in the
bioproduct industry, such as managing
the regulatory framework, and developing
infrastructure. He's also looking at the
impact of regulation in the agri-food
business for healthy food products, such
as blueberries.
"To
succeed in the future, we need to adopt
new technologies, processes and policies
and get everyone working together," he
said.
Details
of Sparling's research were released
today in the October edition of impact,
an online monthly publication featuring
new research from faculty at the Richard
Ivey School of Business. To read the
full article, click here:
http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/publications/impact/vol15no10-sparling.htm
Colette
Southam, an assistant professor of
finance at Ivey, also discusses how CEO
salaries are set and the impact that
cross-listing has on a firm and
executive compensation in the Faculty
Focus feature. For the full article,
click here:
http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/publications/impact/vol15no10-ff-southam.htm
About the Richard Ivey School of
Business, The University of Western
Ontario
The Richard Ivey School of Business at
The University of Western Ontario (www.ivey.ca)
offers undergraduate (HBA)
and graduate degree programs (MBA,
Executive MBA and
PhD) in addition to non-degree
Executive Development programs. Ivey has
campuses in London (Ontario),
Toronto, and Hong Kong. Ivey
recently redesigned its curriculum to
focus on
Cross-Enterprise Leadership â€" a
holistic issues-based approach to
management education that meets the
demands of today's complex global
business world.
For more
information, please contact:
Dawn Milne, Richard Ivey School of
Business, 519-850-2536,
dmilne@ivey.ca
|
