b'A NEW TOOL HELPING YOU IN THE REALM OF RETAIL SEED SALES.PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PLANT BREEDING:FINDING COMMON GROUNDWith public plant breeding on the decline in much of North America, our recent webinar uncovered some possible paths forward.Marc ZienkiewiczTHE PANELISTS SEED WORLD GROUPrecently took a truly NorthMaize and Wheat Improvement Center American view of the public and private plant(CIMMYT) and Corteva Agriscience, said breeding spheres when we hosted a webinartheres a noticeable uptick in the involvement featuring speakers from Canada, the Unitedof the private sector in breeding programs in States and Mexico to talk about how we canMexico. find common ground between public and private breeding programs.Most, if not all, of these private companies are During this session, we uncovered somecompeting within the same market segments. Lauren Comin key takeaways: Their ultimate goal is to make significant Director of Policy, Seeds Canada investments in key crops, especially those in Calgary, Alta. Throughout North America, public plantlucrative areas, he says.breeding is under strain. Were witnessing a situation where the private According to Kantar, the U.S. public sectorssectors influence is rapidly growing, while on plant breeding programs are facing challenges.the other hand, the number of effective breed-These programs are getting older, and theyreing programs within the public sector is on the not receiving as many resources as they useddecline, Gonzalez said.to, Kantar said. Over the years, a few public breeding pro-The problem is that when people retiregrams have managed to survive. This is largely Fernando Gonzalez from these programs, they often arent beingthanks to funding coming from farmer organ-Plant Breeding Consultant replaced. Were witnessing a shift towardsizations and small companies that benefit from Guadalajara, Mexico focusing more on crops that have a strongthe results of public breeding efforts. However, market demand and are considered valuabledespite these efforts, the overall trend is clear: commodities, he said. theres a significant reduction in the number of The breeding programs that continue toactive public sector programs and the funding thrive are the ones that can bring in significantthey receive.profits through things like royalties or fees paid by local growers, he said.In Canada, both private and public breeding Theres been a shift in priorities due to adominate depending on location and crop.decrease in support for these programs thatLauren Comin, policy director for Seeds Mikey Kantar require sustained, long-term efforts. The issueCanada, said the Canadian landscape of Plant Science Professor,here is that even though we understand thepublic and private breeding can be somewhat University of Hawaii at Manoaprocesses involved, breeding new plants takesdifferent depending on whether youre in the Honolulu, Hawaiitime. You cant make a breakthrough andWest or the East. These differences are also expect to see results in just a month. influenced by the specific crop youre discuss-Gonzalez, a retired plant breeder whosing. For instance, when it comes to crops worked with the likes of the Internationallike canola, corn, and soy, where transgenic 48GERMINATION.CANOVEMBER 2023'