Seed World Group and the Seed Association of the Americas partner to create a new source of information for and about the Latin American seed sector.
It is common to hear professionals from the seed sector complain about the bombardment of information they receive on a daily basis. Also, how difficult it is to find information on certain topics, especially to find them all in the same place.
That is where a new partnership between Seed World Group (our parent company) and the Seed Association of the Americas (SAA) comes in, with the creation of Seed World Latin America (Seed World LATAM).
This magazine aims to provide a new source of information that condenses all the priority issues for the region while facilitating knowledge sharing, fostering collaboration, influencing policies, providing market intelligence and promoting sustainability.
Furthermore, in a world chock full of fake news that can spread 10 times faster than legitimate news stories according to studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), it’s more important than ever to have multiple, reliable news sources to fall back on.
“False news diffused significantly farther, faster, broader, deeper in every category of information,” study co-author Sinan Aral, a management professor at MIT, said during a Science podcast.
Because of that, especially in areas such as Latin America, there seemed to be a greater need to diffuse and spread reliable and trustworthy information about the Latin American seed sector.
“As you know, the seed sector plays a crucial role in agriculture and food production and having access to timely and accurate information about industry trends, technological advancements, market dynamics, policy changes, and other relevant developments can greatly benefit stakeholders within the sector,” says Diego Risso, executive director of SAA. “The LATAM (Latin American) region is one of the greatest areas of food production to and for the world, and if considering seeds as the starting point of the chain, we can affirm that an all-in-one means to deliver information is a need and request from the sector.”
The partnership has created a new magazine called Seed World Latin America (Seed World LATAM), a news source striving to be the go-to media for Latin American news. The publication is printed in Spanish but will have digital versions both in Spanish and English, with the potential to expand to other languages.
Though SAA members encompass more than just Latin America — SAA also services seed companies and organizations located in Canada and the U.S. as well — Risso believes this partnership will fill a gap in seed news coverage for their members, while also keeping them up to date on the goings on in North America.
“From the SAA, we want to give all our regions — North, Central and South America — the same opportunity of connection, dissemination of information and positioning in the global markets,” he adds.
In the end, Risso sees this as a benefit to highlight regional challenges and opportunities, highlight successful farming practices, profile emerging seed technologies, share research findings and inform readers about relevant policies affecting the sector, both in North, Central and South America.
“SAA member organizations will be able to profit from Seed World LATAM by sharing their news, events, and other important information to a much larger audience, reaching out to a wide range of stakeholders, including farmers, seed producers, agricultural researchers, policymakers, investors, and others interested in the seed industry,” he adds.
In addition, this partnership expands to industry stakeholders outside of LATAM as well. For companies looking for more information or better ways to get involved in the LATAM region, there’s a perfect opportunity on the horizon.
“The seed industry across the Americas is expanding dramatically and the growth continues to be quite impressive. That said, there are indeed plenty of issues and communication is critical to manage those issues. The role that the Seed Association of the Americas plays in facilitating those discussions across the Americas is further amplified with both Seed World and our new effort Seed World LATAM,” says Shawn Brook, president of Seed World Group. “We know very clearly the ever-growing importance the LATAM region plays in the global seed industry, and we continue to hear how critical it is to share information, grow networks and build thought leadership within the region. There is opportunity at every corner and huge growth for companies that have figured out the correct partnerships.”
Brook notes that’s exactly why Seed World Group partnered with SAA to create Seed World LATAM — to get out that critical information and grow better, more diverse networks for the global seed sector.
Risso believes this partnership can also help aid in advocating for SAA members.
“This news source can also facilitate knowledge exchange and collaboration among various stakeholders within the seed industry, play a role in advocating for favorable policies and regulations that support the seed sector’s growth and sustainability, and market intelligence and business opportunities,” he says. “All of these factors are highly motivating for our seed association because they go hand in hand with our organization’s mission and targets”.
“Overall, given the significance of the seed sector in Latin America and the need for specialized and up-to-date information, Seed World LATAM will surely be highly beneficial to our members and to the whole seed sector,” Risso adds. “Benefits will come from learning, but also providing a platform for exposure for services, products and brands. It also will be a strong tool for networking, as many contacts and references could be taken from this initiative.”
