From World Seed Congress to AOSCA to Seeds Canada and a ton of meetings in between, I’ve been on the road more than home for the last few months. One of the biggest topics that keeps coming up in conversations, whether I’m in Rotterdam or Kansas City or Edmonton, is Latin America. I’m hearing a ton of global enthusiasm for what LatAm can deliver, but also some lingering concerns – some based on legitimate uncertainty about the growing pains of a still young sector, more based on misunderstandings of where LatAm’s at today and how its place is changing in the global seed market.
What I’m consistently seeing from many, many conversations with South American companies is that LatAm’s seed and seed service companies are falling into two camps. Some are struggling through the challenges of ‘inventing the wheel’: building new business channels (especially if those channels are international) and navigating some not yet clear regulatory hurdles. Others are expanding impressively well. As a whole region, Brazil isn’t just a country to watch, it’s a country to get into business with. Multiple Brazilian seed companies are knocking the ball out of the park in growth, tech innovation and industry leadership. Anyone who thinks that Brazil is ‘behind’ hasn’t taken even a glance at what’s actually happening in that seed sector.
North American companies that aren’t taking advantage of what LatAm can offer are — I can’t say it more clearly than this — missing out. LatAm is a growing, hugely important market. There’s the obvious contra-season benefit to us here in North America, but LatAm offers so much beyond that. According to the FAO, LatAm has the highest proportion of arable land in the world: nearly one third of the whole region is plantable. That makes LatAm one of the Earth’s most critical regions for increasing food production, both in planted acres and in productivity per acre. We need LatAm to successfully feed the world and, as we in the seed sector know, that starts with seed. Now, I’m not suggesting companies jump on board out of feed-the-world altruism: I’m saying there’s incredible business value for those who find the right partnerships and opportunities.
Let me be clear: it won’t all be easy. LatAm’s market needs to mature. Figuring out the right path forward will take collaboration, partnerships and effort. There have already been bumps in the road and there are going to be more ahead. It’s critical to all of our success that we as an Americas-wide seed sector come together to help LatAm develop a true South American presence.
From Sept 30 to Oct 2, the Seed Association of the Americas (SAA) is hosting the 9th Seed Congress of the Americas conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Though some North American companies think SAA is LatAm’s seed association, they’re wrong. The concept of SAA and its Congress is that it spans all of the Americas, from Canada in the north to Chile in the south. The Congress is something that every North American company should consider attending: it’s arguably the single best opportunity to collaborate on strategy, build partnerships and develop the trading relationships to drive LatAm’s seed business – and your own – forward. (Note: if you’ve ever tried doing any kind of business with LatAm, you’ll know relationships are absolutely critical to getting any business done in the region).
Because we believe in the importance of being part of building LatAm’s seed sector, we’re partnering with SAA on the Congress. Register using Seed World’s special promo code (SWL-SAA) to get 10% off registration. See you in Buenos Aires: Let’s make a plan to grab una cerveza together.
