Nairobi, Kenya
March 11, 2008
The Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, representing Mr. Minister
of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Kingdom of Morocco opened
the eighth Congress of the
African Seed Trade Association
(AFSTA) held from 26 to 29th February 2008 in Casablanca,
Morocco.
“The seed sector plays a fundamental role for the development of
Agriculture ….” stated the Permanent Secretary of the Minister
of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Kingdom of Morocco in his
speech.
The 8th Annual Congress attracted 250 delegates from 35
countries. Delegates included representatives from regional and
international bodies such as the International Seed Federation
(ISF), The International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), The
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), the
African Regional Intellectual Property Right Organization
(ARIPO), the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU),
The Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought
Control in the Sahel (CILSS), and the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Of keen interest to the group was a half-day ISTA/OECD workshop
on seed certification. Representative of these two organizations
did presentations allowing the participants to deepen their
knowledge about seed certification. Discussions centered on the
practical aspects of the seed certification.
The ISTA/OECD workshop was followed by a half-day seminar on
seed treatment during which experts in seed treatment presented
various interesting topics such as “Seed Care Machinery, Status
and Innovative New Developments, Operator Safety and
Stewardship, and The Global Seed Care Market – Today and
Tomorrow” among others.
The following topics were discussed at the congress:
- Overview of seed
regulations in the Northern Africa countries and its impacts
on seed trade;
- The African seed industry
facing the challenges of the globalization, Experiences and
recommendations for the implementation of milestones reached
on the harmonization of seed regulations: the case of
Eastern Africa;
- Latest development on
Plant Variety Protection in Africa;
- “Seed Alliances” and role
of AFSTA in developing a competitive seed industry in
Africa;
- Strengthening the link
between research on vegetable crop varieties and the private
seed companies for a better vegetable production and
marketing in Africa;
- Information on the current
situation of the implementation of Biosafety Regulations in
Africa
The General Assembly elected a new
Board and
confirmed that the 9th AFSTA Annual Congress 2009 will be held
in Cape Town, South Africa from 2nd to 6th March 2009.
AFSTA continues to organize technical training related to seeds
to build capacity of its members and dissemination of
information on the progress in harmonization with a view to
promoting seed trade.
AFSTA is a non-profit, non-political association with a
mission to promote development of seed industries and national
seed associations to facilitate farmers’ access to improved
varieties. AFSTA represents the African seed industry with 71
members in 34 countries. |
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