Kabul, Afganistan
July 27, 2008
Source:
FAO
A recent seed meeting in Istanbul,
Turkey, of all 10 member countries of the Economic Cooperation
Organization (ECO) including Afghanistan unanimously endorsed
the formation of a Regional Seed Association, which will serve
as the umbrella organization for all National Seed Associations
in the region.
The other ECO member countries are Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan.
The meeting was organized by the ECO Technical Cooperation
Programme (TCP) project in collaboration with the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
(ICARDA) and the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Affairs (MARA) and attended by about 35 delegates and
international resource persons. The Afghanistan delegation was
led by Eng. Mirdad Panjsheri, Chief Advisor and Chairman of the
National Seed Committee, who also serves as the ECO Focal Point
for seeds.
The purpose of the ECO Regional Seed Association is to bring the
member countries together so as to enhance harmonization of
regulatory instruments for efficient seed trade, and facilitate
crop improvement and trading exchanges with the view of
exploring new seed markets and commercial contracts.
 The Afghanistan National Seed Association (ANSA), which will
comprise the public sector and up to 29 private seed producing
enterprises in the country, will be officially established in
October 2008 and will become a full member of the ECO Regional
Seed Association. Direct membership of the Regional Association
will also be open to individual private seed enterprises in the
country. ANSA currently receives technical assistance from the
Afghanistan Variety and Seed Industry Development project, which
is being implemented collaboratively by FAO and the Afghan
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) with
financial support of Euro 10 million from the European Union
(EU). In addition, to help mitigate the effects of soaring grain
prices and ensure uninterrupted certified seed supply, the seed
enterprises of ANSA have recently received US$3 million from the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and
US$3 million from the British Department for International
Development (DFID) as loan funds for procuring seed from their
contract growers, out of which a seed industry development fund
will be created and managed by the association.
Bringing together national seed associations and seed companies
from the public and private sectors in the ECO region under one
Regional Seed Association provides tremendous opportunities for
market expansion, establishment of trading links, facilitation
of technology transfer and information exchange, and building of
capacity in essential areas of seed production and seed business
management.
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