b'available when the variety is available onincluded in the list, says van den Hurk. It the market. is the position of ISF to extend the list to Of course, it takes anywhere fromall crops for breeding and at least plant seven to 10 years to breed a new varietygenetic resources for food and agriculture.and get it on the market. Vegetable breeders use a bit more Its only now that seed companiesgenetic resources from seed banks, start sending money to the benefit shar- so it becomes a problem if the SMTA ing fund of the ITPGRFA, from the varie- isnt expanded to vegetables, she says. ties accessed 10 years ago with a SMTA,However, some gene banks use the she says. Maybe money will flow in, butSMTA and extend it to all crops within we cant promise anything.their germplasmin fact, the first The point is that the expectations ofbenefit-sharing money that came into the the amount of money coming into thefund came from a non-listed crop.Benefit-sharing Fund are all different, vanHowever, even with some of these den Hurk says. Its hard to pinpoint whosissues, ISF is still positive that one day, the right and whos wrong. However, compa- governing body will be able to find a solu-nies will only participate in the system if ittion to make a harmonized SMTA. Anke van den Hurk serves as deputy makes business sense, and they cant doThe Working Group that was nego- director of Plantum.that if the rate is too high. tiating the new terms of the SMTA is not However, one of the other bigger con- going to meet in 2020 or 2021its up to tention points surrounded the idea of DSI.the countries and up to the region to keep This has been boiling up now for thethe discussion alive, Khan Niazi says. ISF past three years, says Paul Olson, Plantis here to keep the dialogue alive with Variety Protection and Germplasm leadwhoever wants to start talking aboutISF is here to keep the dialogue for KWS. DSI is now something someit. While the dialogue isnt dead, it hasalive with whoever wants to start countries are very vocal about and wantslowed down. But we are here to keep to see in the scope of the SMTA. discussing. talking about it. While the dialogue According to the Food and AgricultureWe need to be ready to continue to Organization (FAO), DSI plays a funda- talk with governments, Olson says. Onisnt dead, it has slowed down. But mental role in environmental and biologi- an informal basis, governments will prob- we are here to keep discussing. cal research because it contributes to theably start talking to each other more to understanding of the molecular basis ofhelp each other understand the issues. Hlne Khan Niazilife and evolution. However, the FAO alsoIndustry needs to be prepared to share states that currently, there is no agreedour reactions and experiences during this upon definition for DSI due to differ- waiting period.ences in terminology in scientific circles, which reflects differences in the materialStriving for a Systems Approachreferred to.Another task that ISF has been working Theres no definition around DSI, andtowards for a few years is the promotion no one knows how to define it, Khanfor the adoption of a Systems Approach Niazi says. All eyes are on the Conventionwhen it comes to the international move-of Biological Diversity (CBD) and thement of seed. The ISF goal is to facilitate Nagoya Protocol the topic has comethe international movement of seed by up in both organizations, and if the CBDsupporting the development of Systems decides on a definition for DSI, the inter- Approach as an alternative option to the national treaty will probably have to gocurrent phytosanitary certification system.with it. Systems Approach is one of the Were lobbying to keep DSI out of theactivities that the ISF Phytosanitary scope of these regulations, van den HurkCommittee is actively working towards, says. Were convinced that if its out ofsays Michael Leader, seed regulatory lead the scope, it is better for everyone. of Asia and Africa for Bayer Crop Science. The final problem was the limit on theCurrently, we still have consignment-by- Michael Leader serves as seed regulatory crops that the SMTA extends to. consignment certification. lead of Asia and Africa for Bayer Crop There are some major crops, suchSystems Approach is not a newScience.as soy and many vegetables that arentconcept, although it has not been used 22/ SEEDWORLD.COMINTERNATIONAL EDITION 2020'