b'A look at seed industry developments around the globe.STATUS MOROCCO agriculture. It is a publicmandate to maintain theZambia, to digitize its seed The Wheat Initiativeinstitution with origins datingcountrys rice buffer stocks,certification and plant variety Secretariat is pleased toback to 1914, with the creationand we assure that the NFAprotection processes.announce that Moroccosof the first official agriculturalrice sold and distributed toThe seed sub-sector con-National Institute forresearch service. INRA islocal government units, par- tributes significantly to Agricultural Research (INRA)composed of a network of 10ticularly in times of calamity, isKenyas economic growth has been inducted as theRegional Research Centersof good quality, she adds. and development. In the last newest member of the Wheatand dozens of experimentalDansal says the NFA ricefour years, the Kenya Plant Initiative. Last February theareas spread over the nationalwas procured and repackedHealth Inspectorate Service Wheat Initiative Secretariatterritory, covering the vari- by the Catanduanes Provincial(KEPHIS) has certified more and members of the Scientificous agrosystems of Morocco.Social Welfare Developmentthan 213,000 tons of seeds.Board traveled to Rabat,Furthermore, INRA MoroccoOffice (PSWDO), which storedHowever, while the certi-Morocco as part of the prepa- works to maintain strongthem at the Catanduanesfication process is very well rations for Moroccos mem- partnerships with national andprovincial capital prior todefined, both in practice and bership. Along the existinginternational organisations, asthe onslaught of Typhoonthe law, the activities have international members of thewell as the private sector andQuinta on Oct. 25. largely been coordinated Wheat Initiative, Morocco willnon-governmental organisa- The rice was then includedmanually. This has brought join as the very first Africantions. CGIAR, ICARDA andin food packs distributedabout a number of challenges, country. CIMMYT are important mem- by the PSWDO to typhoon- including long and costly The Chair of the Scientificbers of these strong partner- affected families. business processes, duplica-Board, Peter Langridge wel- ships. For its part, thetion of records and inefficient comed Morocco to the WheatCatanduanes PSWDO clari- traceability and monitoring of Initiative: Their membershipfied that their office has beencertified seed.will bring additional capa- STATUS PHILIPPINES very cautious, in that they onlyAlso, the plant variety bilities and extend our globalThe National Food Authoritypack good-quality food items.protection process has had its reach. The involvement of(NFA) assures the generalHowever, it is not dismissingfair share of challenges owing Morocco in our activities andpublic that its rice distributedthe fact that the repackedto manual processes. They decision-making processesto local government unitsgoods could have been dam- include inability to track seed-will help ensure broad access(LGUs) is of good quality. aged while in storage. Thelots of certified seeds from to wheat research outcomesThe assurance was madePSWDO also verified thatproduction to the market; dif-and add a new and importantby NFA Administrator Judythe rice stocks received fromficulty in producing accurate voice to setting the globalCarol Dansal in her report tothe NFA warehouse were ofand adequate statistics and research priorities. Agriculture Secretary Williamsuperb quality. other market data on certified The Director of INRADar, dispelling an unverified tel- Meanwhile, Secretary Darseeds in the country; duplica-Morocco, Faouzi Bekkaoui,evision news item that showedhas ordered Administratortion of data and effort; and comments: We are glad tosome Virac, CatanduanesDansal to continuouslythe inability of farmers and be part of this global wheattyphoon victims, who com- respond to the immediateother stakeholders to verify research network in the world.plained on receiving foodneeds of LGUs, whose con- data.We are looking forward topacks with sub-standard rice. stituents were displaced byTherefore, in 2018, KEPHIS fruitful collaboration actionsAccording to the TVtyphoons and other naturalentered into a partnership and collaborative programs. report, the provincial govern- calamities.with TradeMark East Africa INRA Moroccos missionment of Virac denied distrib- (TMEA) to address these chal-is to undertake research foruting the inferior-quality rice.lenges through automation agricultural development.However, the TV programSTATUS KENYA of the seed certification and They have made a major con- suggested that the rice cameKenya has officiallyplant variety protection pro-tribution to the modernisationfrom the NFA-Catanduanes. launched the automatedcesses. The system has been of the agricultural sector andAdministrator Dansal saysSeed Certification and Plantpiloted since May 2020, with agro-systems in the regionthe NFA should not be heldVariety Protection (SCPVP)118 seed merchants, 534 seed by improving methods andliable, stressing that is not ofSystem. With this, the coun- growers and 164 seed sellers systems to boost the com- our doing. try becomes the third inacross the country taking part. petitiveness of the countrysWe are focused on ourAfrica, after South Africa and-Source: Nation Africa SW68/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2021'