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 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 148136 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2016 STATUS COLOMBIA At the opening of the fifth Agricultural Science and Technology Fair (Agronova), Agriculture Minister Aurelio Iragorri said the country must begin a technological change from seed research. “The change was generated by a seed, so the technologi- cal issue has to be started by the seed,” he said. “If the country continues to sow the seed of bulk, there is no way to be competitive.” In that sense, Liliana Murcia, technical director of the Colombian Association of Seeds and Biotechnology (Acosemillas) said that through seed research agri- culture can address issues such as climate change, food security and soil fertility. In addition it can be a key ele- ment to “combat the pests and diseases that attack the different crops,” she said According to Murcia, seeds such as corn, rice, cotton and vegetables are the most complex in the country as they have some resistance to herbicides and insect pests. On the other hand, Iragorri noted that the soybean seed has not had advanced technological growth in the country since its supply has been scarce. According to a study by the International Seed Federation, the use of biotechnology improves crop production by 40 percent. But to achieve this growth in Colombian world STATUS A look at seed industry developments around the globe. Groups push for change to advance agriculture and the seed industry while fighting food insecurity. But change does not come without challenges. agriculture, Iragorri said it is essential to invest in scientific development. This was echoed by Alejandro Olaya, deputy director of the Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. “Colombia has 130 researchers per million inhabitants,” he said, noting that only 5 percent of the research in Colombia is aimed at agriculture. Olaya added that for every million people, there are an average of 400 researchers in Latin American countries and about 4,000 scientists in developed countries. Despite innovation in growing conventional and genetically modified seeds, “technical change is what will allow the agricultural sector to gain productivity and be more competitive at local and inter- national levels,” Olaya said. The Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (Corpoica) has become the “backbone” of Colombian agriculture in science and technology, improving its competitiveness. Source: EFE. STATUS GHANA On Nov. 10, John Awuku Dziwornu of the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen claimed that farmers were disappointed with parliament for deferring the approval of the Plant Breeders Bill to 2017. However, the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) says that mes- sage could not be coming from Ghanaian farmers. At a parliamentary debate organized by PFAG mem- bers, farmers called on all concerned to disregard the statement because it does not in any way represent the interest of farmers, let alone come from them. Contrary to the message carried by Dziwornu, Abdul Rahman Mohammed, who serves as PFAG national president, expressed his gratitude to the speaker of parliament and the house for deferring the passage of the bill until the relevant stake- holders have been consulted and educated. Rahman Mohammed says it is on record that Dziwornu has supported the bill and has never been part of any farm- ers who protested against the passing of the bill. Therefore, he says Dziwornu could not be in the position to claim that all issues regarding the bill have been addressed and farmers were waiting for it to be passed as implied by his statement. There is no part of the bill that protects farmer’s seed rights, says Rahman Mohammed. Certain clauses in the bill rather incriminate farmers from using their own seeds. It’s surprising for Dziwornu to claim that “the delay in passing the bill into law is denying farmers the opportu- nity to make more money ...,” adds Rahman Mohammed.