AGRICULTURE: Seed manufacturers to meet in Vic Falls

ABOUT 300 delegates are expected to throng Zimbabwe’s resort town of Victoria Falls for the African and Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) annual congress where discussions will centre on, among other issues, seed trade at national and international levels.

The congress comes at a time when there are growing fears that some countries are increasingly relying on genetically modified seeds, which boost yields but also harm the environment.

The AFSTA congress is scheduled for 2-5 March and is being hosted by the Zimbabwe Seed Trade Association.

Commenting on the high number of delegates to attend the congress, Zimbabwe Seed Trade Association chair Mr Walter Chigodora said: “This has never happened in the history of the AFSTA congress registration. Such numbers have normally been achieved towards the end of February.”

Mr Chigodora said there is “tremendous interest in attending the congress in Zimbabwe” and they expect to have registered about 300 delegates from all over the world by March.

Mr Denias Zaranyika of Seed-Co is the AFTSA vice-president.

As vice-president of AFSTA, Mr Zaranyika is due to take over as president at the 2016 congress scheduled for Nairobi, Kenya.

“I wish to urge the local seed industry including farmer associations, non-governmental organisations, related government ministries and agro-companies such as fertiliser, chemicals and implements suppliers to come to this event and meet with some of the world key players in the seed industry,” he said.

Mr Chigodora added that interest was high because Zimbabwe was not only an attractive venue but also a country that had “always had effective seed systems … and whose economy is largely driven by agricultural activities”.

AFSTA was formally established in 2000 when during the inaugural congress in South Africa, Kenya was elected secretariat. This was after African seed producers realised there was need to have a representative body for the seed industry.

The president of AFSTA, Mr Nicholas Goble, said following the success of the 14th AFSTA annual congress in Tunisia in 2014, this year’s congress in Victoria Falls would provide an excellent forum for stakeholders to exchange viewpoints and discuss investment areas.

“The national organising committee in Zimbabwe has worked hard to ensure that the congress meets the expectations of the delegates. The congress is expected to bring delegates from Africa and the rest of the world who will actively participate in this congress to make it another successful and unforgettable AFSTA congress,” he said.

Some of the topics to be discussed include the recent developments on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Nagoya Protocol and its impact on the African seed industry.

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, of which Zimbabwe is a signatory, aims at among other issues, to recognise the enormous contribution of farmers to the diversity of crops that feed the world, establishing a global system to provide farmers, plant breeders and scientists with access to plant genetic materials as well as ensuring that recipients share benefits they derive from the use of these genetic materials with countries where they originate from.

The treaty is also crucial in the fight against hunger and poverty and essential for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals 1 and 7 where it clearly states that no country was self sufficient in plant genetic resources as they all depend on genetic diversity in crops from other countries and regions.

The fair sharing of benefits arising from the use of these resources has for the first time been practically implemented at the international level through the Treaty and its Standard Material Transfer Agreement.

The Nagoya Protocol adopted on October 29 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity which provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.

AFSTA’s membership currently consists of over 90 organisations comprising 46 seed companies and 28 national seed trade associations, among others.

Local seed producers expected at the congress include Seed-Co, Pannar and Pioneer, among other stakeholders.

The congress, which is an annual gathering of the African seed sector, would also see the AFSTA president, Mr Goble, inviting Kenya to host the next congress in 2016.

Some of the delegates expected are from the regional and international organisations such as the International Seed Federation, Asia Pacific Seed Association, the International Seed Testing Association Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Comesa and the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development.