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 Green line - may/june 2005
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International Seed Federation (ISF)
Dr. Bernard Le Buanec has met Abrasem members to promote the benefits of ISF membership. That organization provides great help in seed import and export procedures. There is a common thought that the entity must be more active related to ISF in order to better make use of information as well as taking a greater share in international seeds business. Le Buanec has also accompanied ABMSZM staff to MAPA to be aware of the situation related to Plague Risk Analysis, which is impairing the brazilian vegetable seeds business.
Latin America Seed Association ( Felas)
Felas is known for promoting the Panamerican Seed of Seminar each two years, and nowadays its president is Dr. Ywao Miyamoto, from Brazil. In this sense, the Federation has had a meeting last April in order to evaluate the program of quality standards harmonization amoung the member countries, initiated by the last president Eduardo Villota, from Colombia. Great advances have been made, stimulating a broader processing from that meeting on involving specifically commercial blocks such as Mercosul, Pacto Andino and Central America. Their intention is harmonizing cultivars certification and protection procedures as seen in Europe.
OGM, Conventional and Organic crops
Farming community and the seed industry have a long history of growing different crops side-by-side and producing pure seed stocks. By common sense coexistence is purely an economic issue and has nothing to do with product/crop safety. This is the position of many organizations.
Royalties
To develop better varieties costs time and money, so countries developed systems to protect commercially those materials. So, in order to use seeds from a particular protected variety, the owner must give permission, which is normally done through royalt payment. As this procedure gives much chance for illegal seeds, there is a trend to charge a small fee for the selling grain. The reference is the French system for wheat, that is in place since 1992 and working well.
Security measures
Government-imposed phytosanitary, security and anti-terrorism measures are increasing in many countries, causing seed exportation to be increasingly affected. Although the authorities try to speed it up, orderly, and efficiency flow of lawful traffic and commerce in carrying out their responsibilities, there are growing reports of government detections.
Seed Laboratories
ISTA has 156 members laboratories and 96 of those are accredited. These numbers are increasing lately with the awareness of the importance to be involved with the state of the art in seed technology. The accredited laboratories are increasing due to the necessity to issue the orange certificate, that in some countries is used for internal seed trade. To rely seed business on an organization has long experience is a good strategy.
INASE Uruguay
Dr. Enzo Benech, from Uruguay, is the new president of INASE. Benech has a long experience in seed production and comercialization and, beyond being technical manager for Cooperativa Calprose, he has already been the president of the National Association of Seed Producers (Anaprose). SEED News wishes him success in the new challenge. Capable professional, with large expertise in the area and supported by their partners are not common persons to find.
SEED News in Argentina
The participation of SEED News in Expo Chacara and in Feriagro, in Argentina, was a success. It was made possible trough a partnership with the company Francomano & Picardi, which represents the magazine in that country. The core public were specialized farmer who were looking for technological advances to their agricultural business. The edition of SEED News in Spanish is distributed in larger scale in Argentina and Bolivia.
Genetic basis
Great advances in crops largely depend on the genetic basis. In this aspect, Dr. Zilda de Fatima Miranda has determined that, for soybean production, its genetic basis is large enough, presenting a normal dendogram superior to one meter. It pacifies researchers, in terms of diseases to which solutions can be pursued within the species, such as for Asiatic rust currently. One other aspect relates to obtaining hybrids in which heterosis has a potential to increase crop yield conseiderably.
ISTA Meeting
It was a success the ISTA ordinary meeting in Bangkok - Thailand. The country with its more than half of the population in the rural area, certainly took advantage of the event. The participants really got involved in many useful discussion about those subjects that were presented by the technical committees. Among the subjects that were heavily discussed, we can mention the rules proposal for the chapter on GMO testing, where the Performed Based Approach method was accepted by the country members. Some others subjects were the rules amalgamation, seed lot size and germination media.
Exports
There is a close relationship between seed exportation and attendance to the International Seed Federation Congress. For instance, the United States has the highest exports with more than 800 million dollars per year and a participation number in average of 119 /event. Second and third are France and the Netherlands with each having more than 600 million dollars of exports and an attendance of more than 70 participants. For every one that wants to export, the ISF congress is a good place to be.
Wheat
The rate of wheat commercial seeds use in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, has been stable for long time, over 90%. However, according to dr. Antonio Eduardo Loureiro da Silva, that percentage has decreased to less than 50%, during 2004. Such process demands a deep reflection of the seed program components in the State. It is hypothesized that the phenomena happened to soybean is going to take place once again, now for wheat, maybe differing only in scale. In 2004 the rate of soybean commercial seed use in Rio Grande do Sul state was close to 0%. The alternative for changing that picture is organizing the sector making use of all tools in management and marketing.
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