b'Convention (IPPC). As of December 2019, there are 42 adopted ISPMs, 29 diag-nostic protocols and 32 phytosanitary treatments. According to Sara Giuliani, public information specialist at the IPPC Secretariat, regulatory processes are at the at the core of the IPPC mandate as the international standard setting body for plant health.Plant health standards ensure that pest risks are effectively managed, prevent pests and diseases to spread worldwide, and make sure that trade and transportation of plants, seeds, and other agricultural products is safe, Giuliani says.The U.S. Department of Agricultures Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) Safeguarding Continuum is an extensive operation designed to prevent large-scale agricul- As the population continues to grow, Klaus Kunz of Bayer says its time to adjust breeding tural, environmental, and economic lossesstrategies away from maximizing yield and onto giving better tools to smallholder farmers.from invasive plant pests and diseases, and discourages other countries fromCGIAR Research program on Maize closing their markets to our productsat the International Maize and Wheat because they dont want our pests, saysImprovement Center (CIMMYT), says Greg Rosenthal, communications special- smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa ist for APHIS. make up 80% of all farms there, and con-We begin the fight against invasivetribute significantly to food production in plant pests and diseases before theythe region. have a chance to cross our borders,Over the past 15 years, CIMMYT and Rosenthal says. When U.S. Customs andpartners in sub-Saharan Africa have been Border Protection (CBP) or APHIS inspec- able to intensively work with seed com-tors intercept a pest, our identifiers mustpanies to invest in deployment of climate-quickly figure out what it is and whether itresilient and nutritionally enriched maize poses a risk to our crops or forests. Theyseed, and generate demand for such order emergency actions, such as treat- Bert Van Der Feltz, global CEO of East- products, Prasanna says.ments, re-export or destruction, to keepWest Seed. Kunz agrees that focusing on small quarantine pests out of the country. farmers is a big idea. Much of the population growth in the Striving for Sustainability These efforts do come at a cost.next few decades will come from low- Steve Reno, Corteva Agriscience presi- Sustainably producing better seedsand middle-income countries, which are dent, Global Seed Business Platform saysrequires new technologies and newdominated by smallholder farmers whose one of the companys sustainability goalsskillsets, which may push the cost of seedaccess to innovative high-yielding seeds is is that every new Corteva product willproduction upward, resulting in higherway behind their higher-income country meet new sustainability criteria by 2025,seed prices,Van Der Feltz says.peers, he says. Simply closing this gap When it comes to sustainableand helping them be more productive advances in the seed, genetic diversityStarting Small can help bring food security directly to plays an important role, Reno says. Supporting individual farming familiesthose areas where it is most needed.To ensure sustainability, Giulianiin impoverished communities is perhapsTraining is also a huge need, not only reported that it is crucial to build capac- the most sustainable and effective wayabout choosing improved varieties but ity of phytosanitary experts, as well asto reduce hunger and poverty over thealso in how to utilize those effectively.improving the infrastructural develop- long term.For example, Van Der Feltz says East-ment for seed testing and certification atB.M. Prasanna, director of theWest Seed provides smallholder farm-global and regional levels. Global Maize Program and of theers knowledge and skills on improved 70/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2020'