2009-09-12

WORLD SEED CONFERENCE

In Mid-November, the World Summit on Food Security took place in Rome highlighted once again the growing concern about global food production. A number of preparatory meetings were held in FAO prior to the Summit.

Among these was the World Seed Conference, hosted by FAO in Rome from 08 – 10 September 2009.  This is only the second such global seed meeting and it was sponsored by the four main international organisations concerned with plant varieties and seeds namely:

• The International Seed Testing Association (ISTA):  www.seedtest.org
• The International Seed Federation (ISF): www.worldseed.org
• The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV): www.upov.int
• The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): www.oecd.org

The Conference attracted several hundred participants with interests in plant breeding and seeds, from both the development community and the commercial industry.  Svalof Consulting, whose core expertise lies precisely in these fields, attended in their own right and also sponsored participants from their projects in Central Asia.

Two days of presentations by invited speakers were followed by a ‘Policy Forum’ on the final day in which the discussions were synthesised to form the basis of recommendations.  The Keynote address for this final day was made by Dr M.S. Swaminathan who was still able to inspire the audience with fresh thoughts, despite his considerable age.  Remarkably, Norman Borlaug, probably the most significant plant breeder of the 20th century, passed away in the same week that the conference was held. 

A press release was published at the end of the Conference and summary conclusions followed soon after; these can all be found on the website of ISTA:- www.seedtest.org - together with many of the presentations by speakers, which provide a valuable source of information.

Even though this was essentially a gathering of the believers, there was a very strong consensus among participants about the critical state of global food supplies generally, as well as the problem of food insecurity which is endemic in some countries.  The rapid rise in grain prices in 2007 was certainly a wake-up call for politicians and development agencies for whom agriculture had slipped down the agenda for many years. 

Although that immediate crisis has passed and stability has returned to markets, the overall prognosis for food supply is not good with increasing population and the constant pressure of urban development on good agricultural land.  Moreover, the intensification of production through very high inputs becomes less attractive as fertiliser costs increase. This underlines yet again the need to deploy our increasing knowledge of genetics to increase yields and reduce losses to pests and diseases. 

Whether we use conventional breeding methods or newer ‘biotechnologies’, the conservation of plant genetic resources and the breeding of improved varieties, surely have a central role in solving the global food problem.  Making these genetic gains widely available through high-quality seeds completes the chain of activities which links pure and applied research to farmers throughout the world. Many participants at the Conference emphasised the need to strengthen the training of a new generation of scientists and technicians in these disciplines, not only in laboratory techniques but also in field practice and management, through which the benefits of science ultimately reach the farmers.

Rutger Persson
CEO
Svalöf Consulting AB

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