Kabul, Afganistan
May 15, 2008
 Source:
FAO
The
Afghanistan seed industry has reached another important
milestone in its recent development with the unanimous agreement
by stakeholders nationwide to establish the Afghanistan National
Seed Association (ANSA) as their umbrella organization for
advocacy and representation both nationally and internationally.
This decision was an outcome of sub-national consultations in
the different regions of the country, which culminated in a
wrap-up workshop in Kabul on 12th May 2008 that brought together
more than ninety stakeholders representing the public, private
and NGO sectors.
The consultation meetings and wrap-up workshop were organized
under the aegis of the Variety and Seed Industry Development
project, which is being implemented by FAO and MAIL with funding
from the European Union (EU). The meetings benefited from the
long experience and knowledge of the key technical facilitator,
Mr.
Jean-Louis Duval (former President of the International Seed
Federation, European Seed Association and French Seed
Association), who guided the discussions and assisted in the
process of reaching amicable conclusions. Dignitaries at the
workshop included Eng. Mirdad Panjsheri, Chief Advisor to the
Minister of MAIL and Chairman of the National Seed Committee,
and Mr. Matin Behzad, Rural Development & Food Security Advisor
of EU.
While unanimous agreement was reached on key issues such as name
of the association, the establishment of three regional
committees, and the aims and objectives of the association,
there were different opinions on other matters including
definition of membership, membership fees, and voting rights,
but all these were resolved finally and joint position reached
through majority voting. A quick poll at the end of the workshop
revealed that 36 Afghan enterprises would wish to register as
ordinary members and 9 as associate members, bringing the
initial expected membership to a total 45.
The next steps following the workshop will include the drafting
of the Articles of Association, consultation with the Ministry
of Justice to confirm that the Articles are in harmony with
Afghan legislative requirements, and organisation of the
founding assembly most probably in the autumn of 2008.
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