APSA gets new President, VP and EC members at 23rd Asian Seed Congress

In accordance with the APSA Constitution, Ms. Dossey, who has served on the association's EC since November 2013 and as Vice President for the past two years, will now begin her two-year term as President. Prior to serving on APSA’s EC, Ms. Dossey served as Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Special Interest Group on Forage and Amenity Turf Seeds (Cover Crops) for many years. She has also been an APSA guest participant for an APSA Long Term Planning Meeting and Governance Review when the new APSA Constitution was being created. Former President, Mr. Wang Zhiping, Managing Director and President of Celestial Seeds, China will now serve one year as Immediate Past President before stepping down from the EC. Mr. Jack Metzelaar, Vice President of Sales Asia for HM Clause, Thailand, who was re-elected to the APSA EC at the association’s General Assembly Meeting (GAM) on November 10, will serve a second two-year term as APSA Treasurer. Filling out the Office Bearer roles is the new Vice President elected from within the EC, Muhamad Tahir Saleemi representing Haji Sons, Pakistan. At the GAM, three outgoing EC members were recognized for their service to APSA. They are: Ms. Anke van den Hurk (Plantum, Netherlands) who served on APSA’s EC as an Associate Member and Program Secretary; Mr Noboru Nagai of Japan’s International Trade Department served under the Government Agency category; and Ms. Vanida Angsuphan of the Thai Seed Treed Association served under the National Seed Association category. [caption id="attachment_1826" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Ms. Anke van den Hurk, Mr Noboru Nagai and Ms. Vanida Angsuphan[/caption]

Filling the vacancies in addition to one left after the retirement last year of previous Immediate Past President, Avtar Singh Dhindsa, several members were re-elected and elected at this year’s GAM.

Three members representing the Government Agency category were re-elected as follows: Dr. Tso Chi Yang, Ph.D., is Director at the Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station (TSIPS) in Chinese Taiepei; Mr. Tsukasa Kawakami is Head of the Plant Variety Protection Section at the Department of DUS Test and Seed Inspection, Center for Seeds and Seedlings, NARO; and Dr. Mihee Yang, Ph.D., who was the APSA EC Liaison for this year’s record-breaking Asian Seed Congress in Incheon, serves as the Examiner and Deputy Director at the Korea Seed & Variety Service (KSVS). APSA delegates elected four new members  to the EC as follows: Mr. Isao Iuchi, Manager of the Vegetable Sales Department and Overseas Sales and Marketing Division at Sakata Seed Corporation in Yokohama Japan and will serve as a representative of the Seed Enterprise category. Also elected under the Seed Enterprise category, Muhammad Asim Butt, is head of Rachna Agri Business in Pakistan, is an executive member of the Seed Association of Pakistan (SAP) and has served on the EC in the past. Elected under the National Seed Association category, Mr. Wichai Laocharoenpornkul is an active member of the Thailand Seed Trade Association and is the General Manager of Seed Business at East West Seeds Company Limited in Bangkok. Elected under the Associate Member category (from outside the Asian region), Ms. Michelle Klieger, is the Director of International Programs and Policy at the American Seed Trade Association. She represents ASTA on four Executive Boards: the Seed Association of the Americas, the U.S. Agriculture Export Development Council, the Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports, and now, APSA. Three more members continue their tenures on the EC as follows: Serving under the National Seed Association category, Dr. Dehua Ma, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Yuanlongping Hitech, and is an active member of the China Seed Association. He is also the current President of the Seed and Seedling Section of the China Vegetable Association. Mr. Casper van Kempen, who was elected as an Associate Member to the EC last year in Goa, is the director of the Anti-Infringement Bureau for IP Rights on Plant Material in Brussels. Finally, serving on the EC into his second year under the Seed Enterprise category is Mr. Vaibhav Kashikar, is the Executive Director of Ankur Seeds, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.