26 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2017 70 The percentage of food production that needs to be increased for a global population that will reach 9 billion by 2050. “Plant breeders are probably on the front line in our war against hunger and malnutrition,” says Anthony Leddin, an Australian plant breeder who co-founded Plant Breeders Without Borders. GIANT NUMBERS The year that Syngenta, an agriculture company that helps improve global food security, became a strategic partner with the Seed Association of the Americas. “I believe SAA provides a great platform to bring seed companies across the Americas together,” say Ioana Tudor, Syngenta’s global head of seed care. “For us in seed treatments, this is really important. It gives an opportunity for best practice exchange in critical areas such as training, stewardship, operator training and, also communication and resistance management.” 3 2011 Dr.MiguelRapela,CEOoftheArgentineSeedAssociation,saysthreemaincountries produce more than half of the world’s food production—the U.S., Argentina and Brazil. “When it comes to plant breeding techniques, communication is an extremely important part. We have to educate everyone.” William Goodbar says the first generation of traits were very binary – there was either a corn born resistance or there was not. “It’s easy to identify, easy to value… the things that become a little more agronomic nuanced become tougher to value, tougher to carry out. I think that where it becomes a chal- lenging environment.” 1ST GENERATION “In Australia, where I come from as a plant breeder, there are a third of the plant breeders there now compared to what was there 20 years ago. We have seen a remarkable decrease in the amount of plant breeders there.” Leddin says they want to encourage young people to be plant breeders, mentored by senior plant breeders who can pass on their knowledge. 1/3