The Canadian seed industry joins the global community in supporting measures to prevent further spread of the COVID-19 virus.
In a news release, seed industry partners, including the Canadian Plant Technology Agency, the Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada, the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association, the Canadian Seed Institute, CropLife Canada, and the Canadian Seed Trade Association, say they’ve have been closely monitoring the impacts on our industry, while placing priority on the health and safety of their members, customers and their families.
Here are some ways the Canadian industry is ensuring that seed can be safely sold and delivered to customers:
- Scheduling seed deliveries and pickups in advance.
- Limiting face-to-face contact during sales and serving customers individually.
- Reducing transmission among staff by emphasizing hygiene and encouraging work from home measures where possible.
- Cross-training personnel to perform essential functions so that the workplace can operate even if key staff members are absent.
- Enforcing social and physical distancing measures among staff and customers.
“Seed is a globally traded agricultural product and the unrestricted national and international movement of seed and related inputs is critical to ensure food security in this time of uncertainty,” the statement reads. ” We support the recently announced measures by the Canadian government to exempt commercial travel from the Canada-U.S. border closure. We want to emphasize the vital role that truckers play in delivering seed to farmers, and the importance of ensuring their health and safety.”
