Seed Info 33, July 2007

S E E D I N F O

Official Newsletter of the WANA Seed Network

No. 33, July 2007

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WANA SEED NETWORK NEWS_______________________________________________

This section presents information on the WANA Seed Network, including network activities and reports of the meetings of the Steering Committee and the WANA Seed Council.

Egypt Organizes Second International Seed Trade Conference
Under the auspices of the National Seed Council, the Egyptian private seed sector will host the Second International Seed Trade Conference (ISTC2007) from 19-21 November 2007 in Giza, Cairo, Egypt. The conference aims at promoting seed trade within and between Central Asia, West Asia and North Africa and beyond. A major event at the conference will be seed trade and exhibitions by seed companies, seed equipment manufacturers, agricultural input suppliers, and agricultural machinery manufacturers. Companies who wish to participate in the conference or exhibit their products should contact the Conference Secretariat. For more information and registration, please contact the Conference Secretariat: Dr (Miss) Sarah Yehia, General Manager, Egyptian Seed Association (ESAS), 35, Gamet El Dowal El Arabia Street, Mohandessen, Cairo, Egypt; Telfax: +20-2-7484018/74991783387274; E-mail: info@esas-egypt.org; Website: http://www.esas-egypt.org.
Zewdie Bishaw, Seed Unit, ICARDA, P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria; E-mail: z.bishaw@cgiar.org

Regional Workshop on Participatory Plant Breeding and Seed Supply
Conventional plant breeding programs have registered spectacular progress in developing new crop varieties for uniform and favorable areas where the formal sector managed to produce and market seeds to farmers. However, as the environment becomes complex, risky and dry it is a greater challenge to breed new varieties that meet farmers' preferences and are adapted to diverse environmental conditions. The limited success of conventional plant breeding in less favorable areas of the developing world led to the emergence of different forms of participatory technology generation with farmers.

In the last decade, participatory plant breeding has emereged as an alternative strategy for breeding farmer preferred crop varieties with better potential for large-scale adoption and diffusion. It has direct relevance to small-scale resource poor farmers particularly those in less favorable environments. Consequently, there is also a challenge to find innovative approaches not only to breeding crop varieties, but also to organize a low-cost production and marketing system to ensure seed delivery of new varieties. From the outset, PPB efforts need to be linked with decentralized seed production and supply, if its benefits to be exploited effectively through more systematic intervention using existing formal channels, or new initiatives closer to the informal seed sector.

Cognizant of the challenge, ICARDA initiated PPB in Algeria, Eritrea, Iran, Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen on barley, lentil, etc which are important food and feed security crops in the region. Similarly, ICARDA is promoting Village-based Seed Enterprises (VBSEs) with the major thrust to decentralize seed production and marketing to ensure the availability and accessibility of new varieties and seeds to farming communities. A Regional Workshop on PPB and Seed Supply was held from 12-15 March 2007 at ICARDA headquarters in Aleppo, Syria. The main objective of the workshop was to review technical, institutional and regulatory frameworks in PPB and seed supply and assess the progress achieved and constraints that hinder further development.

The workshop include key presentations, case studies, country reports and group discussions leading to recommendations and action plans for implementation by national governments. Each participant prepared a background paper and presentation on PPB and farmer-based seed production: achievements, constraints, and recommendations. PPB approaches on barley, lentil, sorghum and beans and farmer-based seed production (including village-based seed enterprises) from selected countries of the region were presented: Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. The presentations gave insights into key policy, regulatory, institutional, technical and organizational issues on PPB and farmer-based seed supply in the respective countries.

A total of 21 participants from 11 countries attended the workshop representing different sectors of the seed industry including the ministries of agriculture, national agricultural research systems, universities, national seed programs and an NGO. The participants were policy makers, senior managers and professionals from Afghanistan (5), Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia (2), Iran, Jordan, Morocco, Syria (5), Tunisia and Yemen (2), countries where experiences in PPB and farmer-based seed production have been implemented.
Stefania Grando, ICARDA, P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria. E-mail s.grando@cgiar.org

Regional Workshop on Harmonization of Seed Regulations in ECO Member Countries
Under a regional TCP project for 'Strengthening Seed Supply in the ECO Region', ICARDA, the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and FAO organized the Second Regional Workshop on Harmonization of Seed Regulations from 30 May to 1 June 2007 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The workshop focused on quality assurance and seed certification in ECO member countries, and opportunities for harmonization.

H. E. Ismat Abasov, Minister of Agriculture, officially opened the workshop in the presence of H.E. Eldar Ibrahimov, Chairman of the Permanent Commission for Agrarian Policy of the National Assembly, Mr Rufat Asadov, Chief of the Agro-industrial Department, and ambassadors of ECO member countries in Azerbaijan (Kazakhstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan). In the opening statement, HE Abasov reiterated the need for member countries to strengthen regional integration in all spheres of agriculture.

Participants of the Second Regional Workshop on Harmonization of Seed Regulation with H.E. Ismat Abasov (Front row: six from left)

Dr Bahram Aliyev, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Azerbaijan, chaired the workshop. The workshop brought together senior delegates from ECO member countries, ECO, FAO and ICARDA. It was attended by directors, deputy directors or senior staff of seed quality assurance and certification agencies from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The workshop analyzed current status, deliberated on effective ways of harmonizing seed regulations, and developed a framework for harmonization of seed certification in the region to ensure that farmers have better access to varieties and seeds.
Yagub Guliyev, Agrarian Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, U. Hajibayov St. 40, Government House R 1028, AZ1000 Baku, Azerbaijan; E-mail: yguliyev@agroagency.gov.az
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