Alexandria, Virginia
January 14, 2009
Source: ASTA Seed E-News Vol 9
Issue 1
As the seed industry gathered in
Chicago for the American Seed
Trade Association's (ASTA) 2008 Corn & Sorghum and Soybean
Seed Research Conference (CSS 2008) and Seed Expo in December
2008, attendees were fully aware of the complicated dynamics and
vulnerabilities of the global food supply and distribution
network. The agricultural markets of the last two years provided
strong evidence with soaring commodity prices, record low levels
of carry over stocks and unprecedented government intervention
to restrict or ban exports, which all contributed to concerns
about basic food supplies to the growing world's population.
Study upon study by international organizations such as the
United Nations, the World Bank and other experts paint a picture
of projected unprecedented growth in global demand for cereals,
as well as other staples, in the coming decades as incomes rise,
placing added pressure on the need for food, feed, fiber and
fuel.
The availability of high quality seed is required for the
world's farmers to have the best possible chance for producing
high yielding, valuable crops. A major factor in providing high
quality seed is continued genetic improvement of crops through
research and breeding. The first American Seed Research
Summit, held Sept. 25-26, 2008, brought together leaders in
public and private sector seed research to outline a strategic
plan to help address the various hurdles facing seed research -
training and education, funding, research trends, prioritization
and public-private partnerships. The summit, convened by ASTA,
the American
Seed Research Foundation (ASRF) and the
National Council of Commercial
Plant Breeders (NCCPB), was an opportunity to find solutions
and build resourceful partnerships so critical to bringing
continued seed innovation and technology which plays a vital
role in meeting this growing demand.
On Dec. 10, at the CSS 2008, ASTA President and CEO Andy
LaVigne, in conjunction with ASRF President Rob Robinson and
NCCPB Past President Fritz Behr, unveiled the white paper
resulting from the September summit entitled, "Strategic
Research, Education and Policy Goals for Seed and Crop
Improvement." Today, research and development in plant
breeding are conducted in both the public and private sectors.
The summit organizers made a conscious effort to balance
different constituencies and crops in order to reach a broad
consensus on the most pressing issues impacting seed research
and policy that must be addressed to enable agriculture to meet
future demands in a sustainable manner. The white paper outlines
a summary of five prioritized strategic goals and some
discussion and analysis of how to achieve these goals.
"The goals outlined by the summit participants are encompassed
in ASTA's strategic plan," remarked LaVigne. "ASTA leadership is
committed to placing even more emphasis in these specific areas,
articulating better our position and needs for the seed industry
and working together with our public and private partners to
advance research, education and policy that enables continued
seed innovation and technology required to meet the growing
global demand on agricultural production." LaVigne continued,
"This paper is meant to guide all of us involved in the seed
industry, both public and private. It is critical that we work
together to bring the highest quality seed to farmers around the
world."
The five strategic goals are as follows:
- Strengthen public and
private partnerships to accomplish national seed research
priorities;
- Coordinate and engage
industry stakeholders to support stable funding for seed and
breeding education, research and development;
- Attract and develop a pool
of diverse, high-quality plant researchers;
- Ensure that the regulatory
system governing the development and implementation of the
new technology is efficient, effective and science based;
and
- Develop an education and
advocacy program to communicate the value of seed and crop
research to the public.
The American Seed Research Summit
represents an important initial step in mobilizing the
scientific and educational resources of the U.S. to address the
food and energy challenges of the future. The seed industry can
achieve dramatic improvements in crop productivity and quality
while reducing inputs and promoting sustainability. The
immediate challenge for seed industry stakeholders is ensuring
resources are available to fully harness the knowledge, research
and technology necessary to achieve the task at hand.
More information on the American Seed Research Summit and a copy
of the white paper, "Strategic Research, Education and Policy
Goals for Seed and Crop Improvement":
http://www.amseed.org/pdfs/ASRF_SummitWhitePapers.pdf. |
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