The seed industry has a reputation for producing high-value products. Seedsmen travel the globe selling the seeds, traits and genetics produced by our industry. The freedom of this industry drives creativity and in turn that creativity has delivered huge value for the food and feed industries, as well as for the ornamentals sector.
We, collectively, have asked our governments to be mindful of regulations that protect our industry, and in recent years this has included lobbying for changes that will allow access to new and improved genetics. For decades we have lived with the rules that were created, and those rules clearly have stimulated our industry, but now they are limiting innovation.
Society’s views change. I often wonder what really is the cause for these shifts, these ‘rule changes’ which manifest themselves in the form of public calls for legislative change from our governments that ultimately hinder the seed industry. Is it the success of our seed businesses? Is it because we, the seed industry, are not really visibly at the consumer level? Are we perceived to be misbehaving ourselves? Is it because we are not understood? Is it because we do not listen enough to consumers? Is it because we work with genetics? Is it the relationship with chemicals? Is it because we protect genetics through patents?
Any way you look at it, the environment in which we operate has changed. Politicians do not make or change laws because they have a clear vision of what is best for society. Most laws are made or changed because a vocal and active or, sometimes, majority segment of society has asked for it.
The regulations we have been working with will change, and we have to work hard to ensure that the rules aren’t to be turned against our industry. We have discussed for years the new seed regulations in Europe, as well as the plant health and other proposals. We still do not know what the new rules will be, or what politicians will decide, but based on society’s current views about agriculture it is likely they will be less than favourable for our industry.
Over the years, discussions have been started on the topic of biodiversity. Speaking honestly, our industry has waited too long before taking action and I sometimes wonder where the seed industry might be today if we had been more active 20 years ago. But that didn’t happen, and today we face the discussions on biodiversity and all the consequences of ‘access and benefit sharing.’
Non- or semi-government organisations would like to force us to behave ‘correctly’ toward less developed countries, going so far as giving companies a ranking in the industry based on their track record concerning access to seeds for small farmers in developing nations.
All these influences and demands from society are understandable. We should not dismiss the attitude of society. We can only wonder why society has changed. Understanding however, that these societal changes are the driving force compelling politicians to make new or change existing laws, laws that might limit our industry’s creativity and our freedom for creativity. Those limitations can and often do limit our progress in plant breeding and genetics. Genetic gain, in whatever form, is required to increase food production and to feed the 7 billion people on the planet today, and will be needed to feed the 9 bn predicted to be alive in 2050 and the 11 bn predicted for the year 2100.
What can we do to change the attitude of society towards agriculture and the seed industry? At the very least, we should not fight against these attitudes. We should strive to understand the reasons at the root of the issue and facilitate a dialogue with society, helping them to understand why we need to avoid restrictive laws and regulations. We must take steps to protect our freedom — it’s that freedom that allows us to drive innovation through creativity.
