July 2024

Source: ISF newsletter

Khaoula Belhaj-Fragnière, ISF Regulatory Affairs Manager, and Philippe Lesigne, Chair of the ISF CG Market Access & Trade, represented the global seed industry at the annual meeting of the OECD Seed Schemes which took place in Nice, France from 10-14 June 2024. This meeting was held alongside the Ad hoc and Technical Working Group meeting.

Highlights from the meeting include:

• Burkina Faso and Paraguay have been admitted as new members of the OECD Seed Schemes, bringing the total membership to 64 countries. This addition reinforces the harmonization of global seed trade policies and regulations, ensuring consistency and quality across international markets.

• Progress of the digitalization project, which aims to improve efficiency by securely linking seed lot information between member countries. This project is now in the test phase among member countries.
   
• Update on the funding possibilities for the capacity-building partnership by ISF and OECD Seed Schemes on seed certification in Africa.

The members also celebrated Eddie Goldschagg's retirement from SANSOR, honoring his over 40 years of contributions to the seed sector and strong involvement with the OECD Seed Schemes and the ISTA committees. His experience and wisdom will be greatly missed as he enters the next chapter of his life. ISF wishes Eddie all the best.

Website: http://www.worldseed.org

Published: July 2, 2024