b'To listen to the entire interview, visit:https://www.seedworld.com/global/2024/08/09/how-do-we-get-quality-seed-to-those-who-need-it-most/ HOW DO WE GET QUALITY SEED TO THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST?IN 2016, THE UN SET 17 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, INCLUDING ENDING WORLD HUNGER BY 2030. WITH JUST SEVEN HARVESTS LEFT, IS THIS GOAL ACHIEVABLE?BY: MADELEINE BAERG, SEED WORLD DIRECTOR OF CONTENTS eed World was honored to tackle the very big question of global hunger duringaone-on-onechatwith Chikelu Mba, the Deputy Director of NSP, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)s Plant Production and Protection Division, at the International Seed Testing Associations (ISTA) centenary annual meeting in Cambridge, UK, in early July. As things stand now, one out of every 10 persons abide the scourge of hunger and malnutrition in the world. If you are think-ing those statistics are so dire, I will shock you even more. In sub-Saharan Africa, it is almost one out every four persons who goes to bed hungry every day, he said.Seed is the first step to filling hungry bellies. As Mba said, There are no good crops without good seeds. But, figuring out how to get quality seed into the hands In Sub-Saharan Africa, less than 10% of seeds used by farmers undergo quality assurance and this lack of of all who need it, especially the smallholder,quality seeds exacerbates food insecurity and malnutrition.Chikelu Mbaoften subsistence farmers in many of the poorest regions of the world, is incredibly challenging. "It is absolutely important that we allinput-intensive agri-food system to a knowl-Mba highlighted that stark reality inspeak the same language; that there is aedge-intensive one, harnessing the genetic Sub-Saharan Africa, where less than 10% ofcommon playing ground, he said, speakingpotential of crops and better protecting them seeds used by farmers undergo quality assur- both about seed testing within individualfrom pests and diseases.ance. This lack of quality seeds exacerbatescountries and seed testings critical role in"The path to abolishing hunger involves food insecurity and malnutrition. As he said,facilitating seed exchange between countries.adopting innovative, environmentally "If the seeds are not germinating, nothingThese efforts are crucial to providingfriendly agricultural practices and leveraging else matters." farmers with the most suitable crop varietiesvast knowledge and innovations," he said.FAO is working to support farmersfor their production systems," he added. Specifically, Mba said a food secure access to quality seeds through two mainAdmittedly, progress towards endingfuture depends on better crops and varieties pathways: normative mechanisms andworld hunger has been slower than hoped. In[that] harness the genetic potentials that are direct interventions. The former involvesfact, a changing climate, conflict in key foodbred into the genetic blueprint of our crops, bringing key stakeholders together to agreeproduction regions, and conflict in general isgrowing them in good ways that don\'t hurt on common policies, standards, and regula- pushing malnutrition statistics in the wrongthe environment, don\'t hurt our health, and tions, while the latter focuses on strength- direction. However, Mba remains confidentthen protecting the crops against pests and ening institutional and human capacities.that achieving universal food security anddiseases using the vast amount of knowledge Mba underscored the necessity of inter- ending malnutrition is possibleand byand innovations that are available to us while national collaboration as a whole, includingthe 2030 deadlinewith the right changes.we continue to develop even more.supporting the kind of international mech- "Change is necessary, but change isIt\'s a big task ahead. For all our good, anisms for common seed quality standardspossible," he said.he added, "Business as usual is not an and protocols made possible through ISTA. These changes include shifting from anoption."50ISEED WORLD EUROPEISEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE'