SEED WORLD 2019- World Seed Trade and Technology Congress
The Indian Council of Food & Agriculture (ICFA) which is always in the forefront of engaging with players in the value chain to find solutions to existing and emerging challenges in agricultural development, organized an International meeting of various seed stakeholders to discuss and develop a strategic plan for seed sector advancement. SEED WORLD 2019 at Bangalore, India on 18-21 September 2019, which focused on the growth parameters for the sector in Asia and Africa. The event was organized by Indian Council of Food & Agriculture, International Seed Federation (ISF) and was supported by Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and National Seed Association of India (NSA) and SeedWorks were one of the co-sponsors for the event.
SEED WORLD 2019, attracted seed stakeholders including seed industry, farmers, national and international seed policy makers and agricultural development officials to address the issues related to providing appropriate seed choice to the farmers with technologies aimed at unlocking the potential of plant genetic resources, understanding the diversity and complexities of biodiversity legislations, facilitate movement of seeds across the borders for research and commercialization under a fair science based regulatory framework, respecting the intellectual property rights with equitable benefit sharing with communities and governments and creating an awareness about illegal seed practices being a threat to farmers’ livelihood and global food security.
The event was structured to include two days of conference discussion sessions (19 & 20 September) with five sessions analysing the issues related to enhancing seed trade in the region, phytosanitary concerns regulating the international movement of seeds, access and benefit sharing under the international IPR and biodiversity legislations & guidelines and good seed industry practices. 21stSeptember was dedicated for field visits to facilities of leading seed companies around Bangalore. The event was inaugurated on 18th September with a Key Note presentation to set the tone for the Congress. Mr. Venkatram Vasantavada, MD & CEO participated in CEO Panel Discussion on Seed Trade on 19 September.
Some of the Highlights of SeedWorld 2019 were:
- Enhancing Seed Trade
- Focus on Asia and Africa
- National and Global Participation
- Addressing Policy, Trade and Technology Issues