The economic value of plant systematics in Canadian agriculture

Agriculture is like a house, resting on a foundation of biological systematics. That foundation is seriously deteriorating, in part because of lack of appreciation of its vital roles and economic relevance. Support for biological sciences is concentrating in seemingly lucrative disciplines, without much realization that the financial benefits often can not be realized without the materials and information provided by systematics. A variety of considerations supports the economic wisdom of investing in systematics research in Canada, most particularly on behalf of the agricultural sector, and suggest that failure to do so could lead to serious, even catastrophic, consequences. In particular, the present scarcity of expertise for identification of vanishing invaluable wild crop germ plasm may permanently penalize both agriculture and society. While it is essential that systematists retain their fundamental orientation to the clarification and cataloging of biological diversity, emphasis on the useful roles played and products produced is both an economic necessity and a social responsibility. Key words: plant, systematics, taxonomy, agriculture, economic.