DECEMBER 2018 SEEDWORLD.COM / 49 team to exercise due diligence (two full time employees), and last but not least, we have also established a company net- work of legal experts on ABS regulations. MB: To ensure that our company is in compliance with all these regulations, we had to: • get legal advice •build an advanced track and tracing system; • set up a new internal procedure; • create new responsibilities. XB: Some of the practical consequences of these regulations are: • adaptation of track and tracing tools; •  staff training to new legal constraints; •  development of internal procedures to secure access and use regarding ABS. SW: Overall, do you think there is a ben- efit to all these regulations? Or is it just a burden? TvdB: Ensuring compliance with the Access and Benefit Sharing obliga- tions ensuing from the Convention on Biological Diversity has proven to be quite a burden to the users of genetic resources. We believe that it will lead to a point where the users of genetic resources will avoid the use of genetic resources which are subject to ABS measures which in turn causes a lower availability of genetic variation. In order to assure conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, we are of the opinion that the countries that are party to the CBD should not link the benefit sharing obligations to the use of individual genetic resources, because this creates a burden- some and inefficient system. Instead, we envision a system whereby users of genetic resources will contribute benefit sharing in a predictable and uniform way, without the need for negotiations and tracking and tracing of the use of indi- vidual genetic resources. This could be organized for example through a fixed fee and no administration. LB: There is so much focus on all kinds of administrative formalities that people seem to be losing sight of what it is actu- ally all about. The main aim is conserv- ing biodiversity and the sustainable use thereof. I wonder how this can be accom- plished, when breeders are reluctant to access new genetic resources because of the high administrative burden or uncer- tainty about the applicable rules. MB: As long as Europe focusses on the benefit-sharing obligations with its regula- tions only and the potential countries of origin are not regulating their access obli- gations, it will be an unbalanced situation. A situation in which the goal to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity will not be reached and with that no long term benefit for the society will arise. XB: In my view, we have now to bear with the ABS applicable regulations. The only remark we can make for the national implementations of the NP, can best be captured up by a French popular expression: the legislator “a mis la char- rue avant les boeufs”. [‘putting the cart before the horse’; RED]. It means that the implementation of the ABS obligations at national level would, in most cases, need more time to enter into force in a practical workable form. SW The former Packing & Palletizing Company (PPC), located in Winkler, Manitoba, is now called Ezratek, President Theo Polstra says. The name change comes as the company is undergoing an expansion of its production plant in Winkler. The business began in 2002 on the family farm in Prince Edward Island. As a farmer, Theo Polstra understood up close many of the struggles farmers face today. After studying mechanical engineering in Holland, Polstra first started the business by importing equipment for the potato industry from European companies, such as Dijkstra, Verbruggen, and Symach. Today, Ezratek builds its own custom designed automatic solutions; including, palletizers, automatic tag placers and big bag fillers for both the potato and grain industries and beyond. Ezratek also provides complete custom grading lines for the potato and onion industry, as well as automated palletizing systems for potato, onion, grass and grain industries and seed cleaners. Ezratek also has its US and Canadian patent for its automatic multi-tag placer. So you may ask yourself, why Ezratek? “We care,” says Polstra. “We have been on the other side and understand a lot of your struggles.” While minimizing your labor cost, and maximizing your labor force, Ezratek helps you streamline your processes and get your bags out the door. Ezratek is your automation solutions provider. For more information go to www.ezratek.com Manitoba Manufacturer Changes Name