December 2010
Source: Seed Info No. 40, January 2011
Official Newsletter of the WANA network
ECOSA 2010 Seed Conference a Success In 2009, the Board of Directors of the ECO Seed Association (ECOSA) outlined activities for 2010 which included providing assistance to establish new seed associations and strengthen existing ones; expanding the membership by enlisting private and public seed companies in the region and beyond; seeking financial support from donors for regional activities; and organizing a Second ECOSA Seed Congress.
The Second ECOSA Congress was organized along with the Seed and Seed Technology Fair from 28–31 October 2010 at the Istanbul Trade Fair, Istanbul, Turkey. The seed conference was organized under the theme Promoting Seed Trade: Procedures, Technologies and IPR. ECO, FAO and ICARDA were members of the international organizing committee (IOC), which also included ISF, ISTA, OECD, and UPOV.
General Assembly
The ECOSA Second General Assembly was held on 28 October 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey. Members and representatives of ECO member countries from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan attended. The national seed associations represented were the Afghanistan Seed Association (ANSOR), Seed Association of Kyrgyzstan (SAK), Seed Association of Tajikistan (SAT), Turkish Seed Union (TÜRK TOB) and its Sub-Unions (TSÜAB, etc.), and the recently formed Seed Association of Pakistan (SAP). Members and delegates from ECO Member States, representatives of the ECO Secretariat, FAO, ICARDA, OECD, ISTA, and UPOV were also present.
The President of ECOSA presented the annual report detailing the progress made and difficulties encountered in strengthening ECOSA. The General Assembly after thorough discussion developed an action plan for strengthening the membership in preparation for the ECOSA 2011 Congress in Turkey.
Technical Workshop
H.E. Dr Mehmet Mehdi Eker, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of Turkey, addressed the ECOSA 2010 Technical Workshop. The workshop had three thematic areas: (i) Plant variety protection (PVP) in the development of the seed industry in the ECO region; (ii) DUS testing and its significance in the seed industry; and (iii) Significance of seed treatment in the seed industry and future trends. Resource persons from UPOV, OECD and Syngenta provided background information and current trends in the seed industry. These presentations were followed by a discussion on how these issues are organized in practice and implemented at the national level, for example, in Turkey or elsewhere. The technical workshop provided useful information to the participants of ECOSA 2010.
Seed and Seed Technology Fair
ECOSA aims to explore and promote the seed trade by serving as a forum for public and/or private seed companies within and beyond the ECO region, and by sharing experiences among stakeholders of the regional and/or global seed industry. Therefore, ECOSA 2010 ran alongside the Seed and Seed Technology Fair, held from 28–31 October 2010 at the Istanbul Fair Center, where a large number of seed and seed-related technology companies participated. About 100 public and private seed companies, equipment suppliers, etc., from Turkey, Europe, Asia, and the Americas exhibited at the Fair.|
ECOSA 2010 participation
About 100 participants from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan participated in the ECOSA 2010 Technical Workshop.
Zewdie Bishaw, ICARDA, P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria; E-mail: z.bishaw@cgiar.org; Vehbi Eser, General Directorate of Agricultural Research, MARA, Ankara, Turkey; E-mail: veser@tagem.gov.tr; and Thomas Osborn, FAO, Rome, Italy; E-mail: thomas.osborn@fao.org
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