As the year draws to a close, Volume 31, Issue 4 of Asian Seed & Planting Material brings together reflection, leadership, and forward-looking insight from across the Asia-Pacific seed sector. This final issue of 2025 opens with comprehensive addresses from APSA President Teck Wah Koh and Executive Director Francine Sayoc, who together outline the association’s key achievements under the first year of APSA’s three-year Strategic Roadmap—spanning regulatory advocacy, member engagement, and organizational excellence.
Anchoring this issue is the cover theme “Beej Kendra Bharat” — India as a Seed Hub, explored through in-depth interviews with leading members of the National Organizing Committee of the 2025 Asian Seed Congress. Their perspectives illuminate why India continues to emerge as a strategic center for seed R&D, production, innovation, and trade, and how its strengths position it at the heart of regional and global seed value chains. This edition also features exclusive interviews with two prominent Indian professionals now serving in influential regional roles within the global seed community—including the newly appointed Director of the Seed Innovation and Protection Initiative (SIPI) and an Asia-Pacific Advocate for the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA)—offering insight into policy, science, and international standard-setting from an Asian perspective.
Beyond India, the magazine captures the breadth of APSA’s diverse membership. Readers will find analysis on how Chinese APSA members can better access global markets, strategic perspectives on the rising capabilities of Bangladesh’s seed sector, and contributions from across the region that highlight emerging opportunities, regulatory developments, and innovation trends.