b'Secretariats meeting at the ISF World Seed Congress 2018 in Brisbane, Australia.- knowledge and resource sharing; demands for seeds and other starting mate- among the members and with its immediate -collaboration and partnerships, nota- rials for the production of food, feed, flow- global institutions like the Organisation for bly in relation to pre-competitiveers and an increasing range of plant-basedEconomic Co-operation and Development research. industrial raw materials. Technology will(OECD), the International Seed Testing - talent development; and also affect the ways that value chains oper- Association (ISTA), UPOV and the - negotiating collective agreementsate, notably through increasing use of dataInternational Treaty on Plant Genetic with workers unions in some coun- and changes to the way that people commu- Resources for Food and Agriculture tries. nicate. Right now, we see the development(ITPGRFA). In the latter years of its 100 Moreover, national seed associationsof artificial intelligence and blockchain, butyears of existence, the importance of com-are different in that their relations are morethere will be more to come. Also, the waysmunicating outside its own bubble has been direct because the policymakers who theypolicies are made will change in intergov- increasingly recognized. This means that the deal with are able to decide on (a broader seternmental organisations in evolving geopo- first phase of the next century of ISFs exist-of) issues and vote in the decision-makinglitical realities. ISF will therefore remainence will be characterized by communicat-bodies that ISF primarily deals with, suchvery relevant in providing a platform for theing beyond the seed sector and collaborating as the International Union for the Protectionseed sector to discuss joint interests. It willwith outsiders. Important first steps in this of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), thealso remain the face of the sector, repre- direction have already been made. Such Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)senting the seed sector and supporting itsconnections are essential for the seed sector and International Treaty, and UN-institutionsmembers in a variety of ways.to maintain its license to produce. Showing that develop broader policies.What is clear is that plants will remainthe societal relevance of the sector and the In all cases, associations are knowledgeessential for human life and so too will seedstopics that it lobbies for rather than simply centres where knowledge brought in by theand the associated international exchangepresenting immediate commercial interests members is matched with associations ownand trade of seeds and related knowledge.of the companies it represents will increas-knowledge of the policy processes. The sec- We can also predict that the diversity of plantingly dictate, not just the messages that retariats of associations not only extend thespecies and the variety of demands on theare extended, but also the form and shape needs of members to policy makers, butseed sector will continue to require a diver- of relations with policy makers. This also also translate the policy realities to thesity of actors working within the sector whomeans that the sector has to find partners members. Even though the associations arewill continue to require a platform to discussand has to be open to the interests of such part of the private sector, in their day-to- matters and to organise collective representa- partners, both operators in the value chains day work they are positioning themselvestion and joint services. These will need to beand those representing societal interests. between the members and the decisionprovided at different levels, including global.We are positioned at the start of the makers in ministries and parliaments.However the future appears, there will be aagricultural value chain, providing an essen-need for the International Seed Federation,tial input for farmers, traders, processors, BEYOND THE CENTENNIAL: though it is certain that ISF of the future willretailers and eventually consumers of plant 202420?? have different functions and priorities thanproducts. The interests of such value chain The world will continue to evolve; intergov- today, responding to and co-creating globalpartners may very well coincide with ours, ernmental and non-governmental organisa- developments. For the first phase of this newbut conflicts of interest are part and parcel tions will change and so will technology andera, however, we can attempt to predict theof such relations. The distribution of profits relations within value chains. As a result ofnext focus: among parties in the chain is already a basic this all, business models will also change.potential source of dispute, and sharing of Technological developments in breed- OPENING UP TO SOCIETY information along the chain is not equally ing and seed technology will continue, andOver the past century, the sector has beenbeneficial for all parties. Also, more fun-so will agriculture itself and the diversevery good at intensifying communicationdamental differences of opinion may arise, 38ISEED WORLD EUROPEISEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE'