Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 6862 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM t the International Seed Federation’s 67th World Seed Congress, more than 1,100 delegates from 64 countries gathered to discuss global seed industry issues and put forth solutions. The meeting also serves as a time to reflect on the past, to recognize leaders for their commitment and vision, to elect new leaders, and to celebrate successes. In welcoming delegates to the Congress, ISF president Alvaro Eyzaguirre said when thinking of seed as a solution to food security, there has never been a more challenging time to be part of the industry. “Our purpose is stronger than ever and there’s never been a better time to be a part of ISF,” he says, referencing ISF’s new vision and mission unveiled last year. ISF’s sections, committees and working groups are focused on meeting the goals set forth by the ISF Strategic Objectives and their recent work is outlined below. FIELD CROPS SECTION Chair: Bryan Gerard, JoMar Seeds This group is rich in members and covers a variety of crops, says Piero Sismondo, ISF director of seed technology and trade. This past year, the Field Crops Section has focused on completing a study on breeders’ remuneration with soybeans. The study is a continuation of the previous one on wheat, Sismondo says, noting that it analyzes how 12 countries manage farm-saved seed, royalty collection and remuneration. “Our goal is to identify efficient methods developed in some countries that may be proposed for adoption or application elsewhere,” he says. The study was presented at the 2016 congress. In addition to the study, the section eval- uated field crops, and has compiled a statisti- cal report. One new project that section members are working on is preparing a list of regulated pests for maize. “We are only at the beginning of the process,” Sismondo says, noting that this extends the regulated pest list to field crops. FORAGE AND TURF SECTION Chair: Darrell Dziver, BrettYoung The Forage and Turf Section completed a survey of nearly 30 countries. Sismondo says the intent is to create global awareness of the research and innovation in forage grass devel- opment and improvements in forage quality. In recognizing a lack of information available to help farmers understand forage options and varietal differences, the section discussed preparing a paper on quality of forage. It will account for multiple types of farming opera- tions, such as the different needs of feeding cows versus that of grazing sheep. The section also discussed what could be done to add to the dialogue about natural grass versus artificial on sports fields, especially in football and European soccer. ISF UPDATE: INTERNATIONAL PRIORITIES PICK UP STEAM EXTRAS BY: JULIE DEERING VEGETABLE AND ORNAMENTAL SECTION Chair: Vincente Navarro, Nunhems The Vegetable and Ornamental Section has four working groups focused on disease resist- ance, GM vegetables, vegetable seed produc- tion and market access, explains Szabolcs Ruthner, ISF regulatory affairs executive. The Disease Resistance Working Group has been developing a coding system for path- ogens. In order to identify and distinguish dif- ferent isolates, the group recommends the use of differential hosts. The Market Access Network launched during the Vegetable and Ornamental Crop Section open meeting at the congress. Market access issues have always been part of ISF’s core business, but they are becoming increas- ingly common. This new concept aims to deal with market access problems more efficiently by better coordinating existing efforts and resources. PHYTOSANITARY COMMITTEE Chair: Roeland Kapsenberg, DLF Because seeds may present a risk when they are introduced to environments where asso- ciated pests could establish and spread, many countries have phytosanitary restrictions for the movement of seed. The activities of the Phytosanitary Committee fall into three areas: representing the industry at the IPPC, supporting ISF’s members on regulatory issues and developing technical tools to facilitate the international movement of seed. “ISF has been instrumental in the IPPC’s decision to develop a standard on the inter- national movement of seed,” says Radha Ranganathan, ISF director of technical affairs. “The standard is intended to provide guidance to national plant protection organisations (NPPOs) on identifying, assessing and manag- ing pest risk associated with the international movement of seed.” Standard setting is a slow process, but Ranganathan says she is hopeful that the standard on seed will be adopted by IPPC member countries in a year or two. Phytosanitary measures imposed by countries must be technically justified, and this is where ISF’s Regulated Pest List Initiative comes in. The objective of the ini- tiative is to develop a database with a sci- ence-based summary of pertinent information to serve as a resource for the industry as well as regulatory bodies. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SUB- COMMITTEE, BREEDERS COMMITTEE Chair: Usha Zehr, Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds “This committee is charged with identifying intellectual property tools that would be helpful to the seed industry,” says Hélène Guillot, ISF international agriculture manager. The group is brainstorming about the needs around IP for the future. “This is an area where things are moving fast around the world,” she says. At the World Seed Congress, a presentation was given on royalty collection and how it is important for IP. Guillot says the committee hopes to demonstrate that increased revenue leads to more innovation and new varieties to address tomorrow’s needs. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE SUB-COMMITTEE, BREEDERS COMMITTEE Chair: Usha Zehr, Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds One area of focus for the Sustainable Agriculture Sub-Committee is the access and benefit sharing of genetic resources through the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Nagoya Protocol and the International Treaty of the FAO. ISF is working on the development of a user-friendly decision tree to provide the right information to its members regarding their access to genetic resources. At its annual meeting in July, the working group hosted its last meeting and gave a recommendation to the International Treaty secretariat. The role of ISF, Guillot says, is to represent what our members want, find a common position and help propose new ideas. “As a whole, the industry is confident in the certainty the International Treaty delivers, and does not want to rely solely on the Nagoya Protocol,” Guillot says. “Efforts should be made to get countries to ratify the treaty and place genetic resources in the multilateral system. Losing the treaty would be detrimental for the breeding industry.” A s pa r t of t he open session of the Breeders Committee, there was a roundtable discussion about what the seed industry can expect from the International Treaty Working Group. SEED APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES COMMITTEE Chair: Klaus Schlünder, KWS This committee has been developing a communications strategy. “We have outlined goals and identified stakeholders,” Sismondo says. “Through these efforts, we’ll have uniform language to use across the industry. This will help to avoid unintentionally sending mixed messages when working with stakeholders.” The communications plan was be presented at the congress. Additionally, the committee prepared guidelines, which is being distributed to ISF members to adapt and translate into local languages. As always, the Congress is more than just business. It’s a celebration of what the seed industry has to offer, and one of the many blessings is the people who devote their time, efforts and energy to the advancement of the seed industry. A