b'THE LAST WORDHow Do We Get Quality Seed toThose Who Need It Most?In 2016, the United Nations committed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including the huge task of ending world hunger by 2030. With just seven harvests to go before the targeted completion date, is the goal achievable?Madeleine Baerg, Director of ContentSEED WORLDwas honored to tackle the very big ques- These efforts are crucial to providing farmers with the most tion of global hunger during a one-on-one chat with Chikelusuitable crop varieties for their production systems, he added.Mba, the Deputy Director of NSP, the UN Food and AgricultureAdmittedly, progress towards ending world hunger has been Organization (FAO)s Plant Production and Protection Division,slower than hoped. In fact, a changing climate, conflict in key at the International Seed Testing Associations (ISTA) centenaryfood production regions, and conflict in general is pushing mal-annual meeting in Cambridge, UK, in early July.nutrition statistics in the wrong direction. However, Mba remains As things stand now, one out of every 10 persons abide theconfident that achieving universal food security and ending scourge of hunger and malnutrition in the world. If you are think- malnutrition is possibleand by the 2030 deadlinewith the ing those statistics are so dire, I will shock you even more. In sub- right changes. Saharan Africa, it is almost one out every four persons who goesChange is necessary, but change is possible, he said. to bed hungry every day, he said. These changes include shifting from an input-intensive Seed is the first step to filling hungry bellies. As Mba said,agri-food system to a knowledge-intensive one, harnessing the There are no good crops without good seeds. But, figuring outgenetic potential of crops and better protecting them from pests how to get quality seed into the hands of all who need it, espe- and diseases.cially the smallholder, often subsistence farmers in many of theThe path to abolishing hunger involves adopting innovative, poorest regions of the world, is incredibly challenging. environmentally friendly agricultural practices and leveraging Mba highlighted that stark reality in Sub-Saharan Africa,vast knowledge and innovations, he said.where less than 10% of seeds used by farmers undergo qualitySpecifically, Mba said a food secure future depends on better assurance. This lack of quality seeds exacerbates food insecuritycrops and varieties [that] harness the genetic potentials that and malnutrition. As he said, If the seeds are not germinating,are bred into the genetic blueprint of our crops, growing them nothing else matters. in good ways that dont hurt the environment, dont hurt our FAO is working to support farmers access to quality seedshealth, and then protecting the crops against pests and diseases through two main pathways: normative mechanisms and directusing the vast amount of knowledge and innovations that are interventions. The former involves bringing key stakeholdersavailable to us while we continue to develop even more.together to agree on common policies, standards, and regula- Its a big task ahead. For all our good, he added, Business as tions, while the latter focuses on strengthening institutional andusual is not an option.SWhuman capacities. Mba underscored the necessity of international collaboration as a whole, including supporting the kind of international mecha-nisms for common seed quality standards and protocols made possible through ISTA.It is absolutely important that we all speak the same lan- WHEREWEBON THEguage; that there is a common playing ground, he said, speaking both about seed testing within individual countries and seed test- To listen to the entire interview, visit: ings critical role in facilitating seed exchange between countries.www.seedworld.com/global/2024/08/09/how-do-we-get-quality-seed-to-those-who-need-it-most/ 48/ SEEDWORLD.COMLATAM'