Mexico
June 11, 2020

In the case of Mexico, AMSAC has maintained close communication with its members, as well as with authorities and allies in the food production sector. Among the actions we have taken are:

• AMSAC communicated its members that the staff would start working from home (March18th).
   
• A statement was sent out to the general public, endorsing the commitment of AMSAC and its members to maintain a regular seed supply during the pandemic (March 20th).
   
• We urged our members to immediately communicate us about any inconvenience that may arise regarding seed movement (international and/or domestic) (March 24th).
   
• Agricultural and livestock production, as well as agribusiness were recognized by the government as essential activities (March 30th).
   
• Cancellation or re-scheduling of events scheduled for 2020:
  • Annual conference re-scheduled for November 25-27th (it was originally scheduled for August 5-7th)
  • A new calendar of virtual events was generated and shared with the membership (April 8th), in order to address general and specific concerns of seed companies, and to share information on strategic topics, such as digital communications, plant health, plant breeding innovations, among others.
  • Virtual workshops (webinars) started on April 15th.
     
• We have been working with our NPPO to accelerate the ePhyto implementation and the authorization of third parties for seed certification.
   
• We have received some reports from our members, informing specific difficulties for seed movement. Nevertheless, we have been able to address them and solve them with the respective authorities.

Our priority is to keep the seed production and distribution processes active, both domestically and internationally. Close communication with our members and collaboration with regulatory agencies (NPPO and Seed Inspection and Certification Service) and other private ally organizations (National Agricultural Council and Business Coordinating Council) have been key to keep steering through the crisis we are facing.

Website: http://www.amsac.org.mx

Published: June 11, 2020