Quality Seed | Quality Life
December 2021 Newsletter
Welcome everyone to the APSA newsletter and podcast for the last month of the year 2021. I hope everyone is still doing well, staying safe and enjoying the new year holidays!
In this month, it is always a good month to reflect on what you have done in 2021 and what would be your new year’s resolutions. Here I would like to do that on behalf of APSA by giving you a short reflection on the past year, which can be highlighted by some key impressive numbers we have achieved together, which are also covered in the respective sections below.
Starting with our members this year, we have 333 active members.. We engaged more than 2,000 participants from member’s organizations in our capacity building activities. We would like to thank all 74 experts around the world who have come across the challenges of the time difference and have contributed to the success of all our activities. We have 4 new executive committee members which in total 15 Executive committee members starting from 2022. We have collaborated on the new projects focusing on the capacity building and public private partnership on seed trade and Plant Variety Protection with our stakeholders such as Naktuinbouw, APAARI, CropLife Asia, the International Seed Federation and the USDA on the Mekong- US Partnership for seed trade development. And we have started to reach out to Universities in 7 countries on the new initiative on the University Connect Program. We would like to thank our 60 technical committee members of 7 groups who have dedicated their time to contribute to the great programs this year, even though we could only conduct most activities virtually.
Regarding policy advocacy work, this year we have collaborated very strongly with our standing committee on ITQ and standing committee on IPR and Biodiversity together with our stakeholders from ASTA, ISF, CIOPORA, Euroseeds, AFSTA, SAA and CLI. We have contributed feedback and recommendations on seed related policies, laws and regulations in China, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, Philippines and India, in addition to the European Union.
And we are pleased to report a positive development in in India regarding the office memorandum announced on 16th September that required for Additional Declarations to be endorsed on all original phytosanitary certificates issued in seed consignments’ country of origin.This requirement has been relaxed for period of 2 years, which is great news and result of strong cooperation, and is very much proof that we should continue to maintain a consistent voice in sharing the importance of seed movements with NPPOs, especially with respect to the current practices of seed companies on seed production and seed movement. We of course continue to prioritize this topic through to next year.
Next, we are looking forward to our first event, schedule for 20th January, which is a Congress agreement signing ceremony between APSA and Thai Seed Trade Association or ThasTA. We remain hopeful that in 2022 we can meet all of you in person, and have planned many in person activities next year.
Lastly, I would like to wish all of you a very fabulous new year and may the new year bring you and your family good health, prosperity, happiness and success.
Thank you very much and again if you have any suggestions on our activities, the key issues you are facing in your seed business and possible collaborations, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at may@apsaseed.org.
May Chodchoey,
APSA Executive Director
may@apsaseed.org.
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Following are highlights of APSA events throughout the past year:
APSA would like to thank all Members who participated and attended our various events in 2021. And as we now prepare for 2022, we would now like to give everyone an update on the various events APSA has planned for next year, both in-person and virtually:
APSA Asian Seed Congress will be held 14 – 18 November 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand
Welcome to Technical Affairs update. Starting with APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium, following is a brief summary of the activities for the APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium in 2021:
2021 was the fifth year for the APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consoritum, and we welcomed back 37 members, including 3 brand new members: Genting Green Sdn Bhd from Malaysia, NOVA Genetic from France and Monsoon Foods from India.
A Total of 14 companies participated in the new HST project. The overall objective of the HST project is to strengthen heat stress tolerance breeding by identifying new sources of heat stress tolerance and characterising the major component traits associated with heat tolerance for pepper and tomato. Project duration will be 3 years from July 2021 to June 2024.
Our annual flagship event, the Consortium Annual Workshop, which was held virtually on May 11 , welcomed a total 208 participants representing 31 companies from throughout the region and world. May 11 featured breeder lead presentations, discussion and group interactions, while exclusive meetings between breeders and company representatives were conducted on May 12.
Unfortunately, the planned Bitter Gourd field day, which was initially planned Dec 18th to Jan 7th,at ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore has been postponed (see events above and in bold below) due to incessant rains over the past two months at the trial site. The representatives of the 2021 consortium companies will be able to assess the seven better yielding bitter gourd hybrids of different market segments that are resistant to the local race of powdery mildew in Thailand and one hybrid that is resistant to the Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus.
Moving forward for 2022 APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium. We are happy to inform you that the registration for 2022 APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium（CLICK HERE to learn more about the consortium benefits.） and its Annual Workshop are now open, (in-person or online attendance), please CLICK HERE to register.
In addition, we are happy to announce the Field Demonstration of the 2021 APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium Exclusive Tomato & Pepper Lines will be held on May 9th, 2022 in Bengaluru, India. All 2021 Consortium Members are eligible to participate this field day. Please click here to learn more about the field demo.
● To register for the In-person participation to the field day, please CLICK HERE.
● To register for the online attendance to the presentation sessions of the field day, please CLICK HERE.
If you have any problem or need help from APSA Secretariat, pls contact Ms. Xiaofeng Li at xiaofeng@apsaseed.org and xiaofeng_apsa@163.com
Standing Committees and Special Interest Groups
Following is a summary review of the APSA SC/SIG activities this year:
Starting with the Standing Committee on Seed Technology:
Short summary in one sentence for this group; They have new members, new initiatives and more exciting activities!
The committee welcomed 2 new members this year, Dr Sandeep Jadli (East West Seed) and Dr Tomoko Sakata (Incotec). They had a total of 9 committee meetings, which were held almost every month.
The first initiative was APSA Seed Technology Webinars; in total the committee organized 3 webinars in this series, in April, July and September. Topics were: Seed Health testing for plant virus pathogens; Unlocking the powers of seed coating; and Physical and Physiological Seed Upgrading. The webinars received a lot of interest both from APSA members and stakeholders and were among the most popular in terms of numbers of participants.
The second initiative, which was announced in the November virtual technical session, was the launching of APSA Seed Academy program, which is a new platform for APSA members to gain more knowledge and training. The program will begin in 2022. Besides, we are happy to inform you that we found 8 champions from APSA members and stakeholders who got the highest score in the APSA Seed Technology Champion Forum. The quiz is extracted from 3 APSA Seed Technology webinar series this year. We are pleased to announce these champions names as follows;
From APSA members:
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Kunal Sood from Namdhari Seeds Pvt. Ltd. |
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Paul Koomen from Seed Processing Holland B.V. |
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Kwanghong Lee from KOREA SEED & VARIETY SERVICE (MAFRA) and |
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Tomio Takahashi from Takii & Company, Ltd. |
And from APSA stakeholders, all of them are from University Putra Malaysia:
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Tong Zhi An |
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Koh Khong Shien |
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Liew Xi Yun and |
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Mohammad Hazwan Shariff Bin Mohamed Haniff |
Congratulations!
Standing Committee on Intellectual Property Rights and Biodiversity
This year, our Standing Committee on Intellectual Property Rights and Biodiversity welcomed 4 new members: Mr Liam Gimon (AIB), Mr Viet Anh Khuat (Syngenta Asia Pacific), Ms Rosa Natividad P. Villanueva (East West Seed Co., Ltd) and Mr Fabrice Mattei (Rouse & Co. International (Thailand) Ltd.). There were 5 committee meetings this year to discuss policy advocacy activities.
This year APSA has collaborated with stakeholders on several joint letters on policy advocacy such as Joint Presentation of breeders on issues related to EDV by UPOV Working group of EDV, Contribution in response to the internal consultation on the draft guidance document issued by UPOV Secretariat in relation to the use of protected varieties by small scale farmers and Contribution in response to the public consultation related to the Draft Amendments to the China Seed Law.
Aside from this, we also uploaded a video about fundamentals of Access and Benefit-sharing and Digital Sequence Information for plant genetic resources and their implications for the plant breeding sector, which was presented by committee member, Ms Anke van den Hurk as part of the advocacy activities. Click here ([members only – login required] .
As a new initiative, this year APSA in collaboration with Naktuinbouw & UPOV organized PVP Toolbox program – eLearning modules to 25 participants from the Philippine Seed Industry Association and Thai Seed Trade Association to create the awareness on the plant variety protection, plant breeders ‘rights under UPOV1991 convention for key counterparts in the seed industry especially farmers. The public live session held on October 8 can be viewed by the general public here. :
Lastly, the committee also coordinated conducting a PBR and Farmers’ Rights survey amongst National Seed Associations, the results of which were presented in APSA Virtual Technical Session in November.
Next our Standing Committee on International Trade & Quarantine this year welcomed a new stakeholder member, Dr Ravi Khetapal from APAARI. The committee had a total of 6 meetings and were quite active in keeping eachother updated via email. The committee members have always stayed vigilant, working tediously towards efforts to increase public sector outreach and advocacy initiatives. This year the committee and APSA Secretariat participated in consultations and formal policy feedback rounds. We did this by writing and/or contributing to a handful of advocacy letters, including to the governments of China, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey as well as the EU Commission and ASEAN Secretariat.
Furthermore, the committee organized the 7th Asia-Pacific Phytosanitary Expert Consultation in July and through a working group has been engaged meeting regularly to draft and submit the full proposal for a project preparation grant from the Standard and Trade Development Facility (STDF).
Speaking of new initiatives, this year SC ITQ committee launched the APSA Recognition Award for the Most Influential Plant Pathologist in the Asia and Pacific region to celebrate the International Year of Plant Health. The nomination, selection and decision process, which was undertaken as a collaborative initiative among several APSA’s technical committees — SC ITQ, SIG V&O, SIG Field Crops and our honorable jury members -- is part of greater efforts to encourage excellence in plant pathology and seed science. We are pleased to inform you that Dr M. Krishna Reddy received this prestigious award. More details here.
The committee also launched a new social media campaign “meet the plant pathologist” to recognize plant pathologists, field inspectors & growers in the Asia Pacific Region, whose work ensures companies can deliver clean seeds to farmers in the Asia-Pacific region. Follow APSA Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram so you will not miss the updates.
Next, Special Interest Group on Field Crops this year had a total of 7 online meetings from February to October. As the focus crops in the SIG Field Crops includes, field corn, rice (conventional and hybrid), cotton, sorghum, pearl millets and oil crops, this year field crops committee has organized activities related to the aforementioned focus crops. After the extensive activity planning, the committee started the first activity to provide exclusive info for the Impact of COVID-19 survey on seed trade for field crops companies. The report was published and can be downloaded via this link: The full survey dataset and consolidated responses can be downloaded by active APSA members via this link (login required).
In August, the committee organized the first APSA Field Crops webinar session 1 on Breeding for Resilient Field Crops for APSA members, followed with the Train the Trainer Course: Seed production Practice for FC on IP Protection, exclusively organized for 10 SIG Field Crops members, and which was designed based on APSA’s Code of Conduct.
In October, the committee joined the Live session for Plant Variety Protection Program (PVP Toolbox) and organized the Field Crops webinar session 2 on Biofortification: Market Development Strategy for Field Crops . And last month they had a very interesting virtual technical session, with the announcement of the awardee of APSA Recognition Award for Most Influential Plant Breeding Researchers in the Asia Pacific Seed Sector (Field Crops sector) – Dr Manuel L. Logrono.
Last but not least, this is a very sad year for the sudden loss of our committee member, Mr Hardeep Grewal from Syngenta Asia Pacific. May he Rest in peace.See our tribute for him here.
Finally, the Special Interest Group on Vegetables and Ornamentals or SIG Veg & Orn conducted 5 virtual meetings in 2021 and the group consists of 9 members from 5 countries as the group accepted one new member this year. The SIG V&O guided and assisted the sub-working groups with the activities and initiatives to enhance the capacity of vegetable seed companies on APSA’s priorities comprising intellectual property right and plant variety protection & biodiversity, trading of quality seed, public and private partnerships. Following is a summary of the group’s activities, trainings, and initiatives that the sub-groups have taken this year:
The Working Group of Integrated Vegetable Seed Companies or WIC consists of 20 members and 4 Observers from 12 APAC countries. The Observers will become permanent members of WIC in April 2022 by signing the WIC Code of Conduct. At the start of the year, the WIC members submitted responses to the impact of COVID-19 questionnaire which had been published in Asian Seed Magazine and the results submitted last year together with our company members in APAC were used and published by OECD Seed Scheme and was also shared with ISF.
To support capacity building in intellectual property rights and PVP, the WIC conducted a Train the Trainers Program on IP practices in seed production and healthy seed production practices for the reps from WIC member companies., welcoming a total of 38 trainees from 23 WIC companies. The trainees from this group will next serve as trainers for their company employees.
Another capacity-building program initiated by the WIC was a new program to facilitate collaboration with academic institutions. It is called “the University Connect Program”and has received great responses from the National Seed Associations from 7 countries and a total of 17 universities. Students from these institutions have started joining our webinar series this year. All in, we had around 300 students and faculty from these institutes attend. We are still working on the activity planning for 2022 of this program and we will keep our NSAs and Universities updated. Our aim of this program is to create talented young seed industry of experts or future leaders in the seed industry.
Upcoming activities are the framework proposed by WIC to collaborate with all Standing committees on policy advocacy to help address and solve the burning issues in the seed industry, including those related to plant variety protection and phytosanitary measures. Another recommendation from the WIC is the country landscaping report for APSA members. This initiative will help to bring the visibility and the trading capability of the country to APSA members. More updates on all these initiatives will be shared in the WIC November 2021 meeting summary report, to be published in Asian Seed Magazine, Q1, 2022.
The Disease Resistance Terminology Working Group or DRT, essentially working as a sub-group of WIC, the DRT, met 5 times this year. The group consists of 8 members from 6 countries / territories. This year the group validated and successfully submitted a list of 11 pathogen codes to the ISF which will be published on the ISF website. For the bitter gourd project, the process of trail is a bit delayed due to the material accession and the trial plan can still be continued in the next year. Apart from this, the group has already proposed a list of vegetables to WIC members to seek their interest for the next focus crop. Therefore, by January 2022, the DRT will initiate working on the pathogens of at least 3 crops which have not been covered by ISF.
The R&D Advisory Group met 12 times. The group accepted 6 new members this year now consists of 9 members from 6 countries. The R&D group finalized the charter for the group this year, strengthening the objective of the group.
As the physical Asian Solanaceous Round Table and Asian Cucurbits Round Table could not be arranged due to COVID restrictions, the group decided to arrange a virtual series of webinars, famously known as ASCRT Expert Talk on Crop Improvement. In total, 7 webinars were arranged by the group, being attended by an average of 160 attendees from more than 45 APSA member companies and organizations. The overall satisfaction level of all webinars remained above 90% which speaks to the success of the webinar series. The R&D group aims to continue the webinar series and more details will be shared in 2022.
The Breeders’ award program was another excellent initiative taken by the R&D group and the awardees have already been announced by APSA. Make sure to check on our social media channels and on our website here..
The R&D group also assisted in reviewing the research proposals from WorldVeg and NSTDA. The group also helped to propose the new benefits for APSA – WorldVeg consortium members which included 24 months to access the exclusive lines and the field demonstration to be conducted outside the HQ of WorldVeg. The field day for consortium members of 2021 will be organized on 9th May, 2022 followed by the annual workshop for 2022 members and our Asian Solanaceous Round Table 2022. All events are organized during 9 – 13 May, 2022 under a collaboration with IIHR in Bangalore, India. Another physical event that the group is planning is the Asian Cucurbits round table which will be held in Thailand together with the bitter gourd field day by World Vegetable Center in July, 2022. Registration for the workshop in May will be opened soon. Please stay tuned for more updates.
That was it from all the committees’ updates. Such an amazing year this has been with a lot of virtual interaction, and we are hoping for more physical events in 2022. We would like to thank all of our members for the continuous support.
One final note here is that we regret to inform you that APSA Technical Program Manager, Muhammad Moazzam will conclude employment with the APSA Secretariat on December 31. It has been a pleasure working with him and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
With that, APSA Technical Affairs would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year ahead. May you and your family stay safe. Thank you!
As part of APSA’s digitalization and digitization strategy, in 2022 we’re offering active members even more ways to directly reach Asia-Pacific seed industry decision makers directly — in their inbox, on their desktop PCs, laptops, smartphone, tablets, and phablets alike, through our exciting new affiliate, sponsorship, marketing, communication, advertising and publicity opportunities. We will announce our APSA 2022 Sponsorship & Advertising Packages soon. In the meantime, inquiries and interest can be emailed to Bobbie (komsak@apsaseed.org) or Mike (mike@apsaseed.org)
Registration for ISF World Seed Congress 2022 open: The International Seed Federation has opened registration for its 2022 World Seed Congress, which is scheduled to take place 14-18 May in Barcelona Spain. . . .
Registration for AFSTA Congress 2022 open: The African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) has opened registration for its 2022 annual meeting, which is planned to be held in Djerba, Tunisia from 28 February to 3 March. . . .
Sustainable ag policy brief in SE Asia: The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) and its Ally Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) have published a Policy Action Brief addressing challenges, opportunities and recommendations for policymakers . . .
WorldVeg Breeder among awardees recognized as Most Influential: APSA and the World Vegetable Centre (WorldVeg) congratulate Dr. Peter Hanson, WorldVeg Global Plant Breeder and Lead Scientist, who received the Most Influential Plant Breeding Researcher (Public Sector) Recognition Award from APSA. . . .
Details on these on our international seed industry news page
Eyre Peninsula project to recover South Australian flowering plants: A national seed bank containing 13,000 varieties on Eyre Peninsula will ensure more than 80 per cent of South Australia's most-threatened species survive and may further regeneration of species believed lost . . .
Pacific Seeds funding agricultural scholarships at Queensland U: The Aus$5,000 grants may be applied to the final year of studies and are aimed at assisting farming families with tertiary education costs while also encouraging young people to enter agriculture. . . .
Floods and unseasonal weather prompt canola seed worries: Record canola prices are prompting unprecedented seed orders from those wishing to cash-in on high oilseed prices, but floods and inclement weather in the seed production areas of New South Wales and Victoria have led to worries of ensuing dearth. . . .
DLF consolidation: Danish farmer’s co-operative DLF is consolidating PGG Wrightson Seeds, Agricom, AusWest Seeds and Stephens Pasture Seeds, brands purchased in 2019, into a single channel called DLF Seeds. . . .
eBay weeds out unidentified seeds and live plants entering Australia by mail: The project is undertaken in cooperation with Australia's Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE), and has interdicted 18,000 doubtful or illegal attempts to introduce seeds from abroad. . . .
ASF announces date of 2022 Convention: The Australian Seed Federation (ASF) has announced that its 2022 Seed Business Convention will be held 16-18 August, 2022. . . .
More details on these and other stories in the Australia seed industry news page
Dr. Rakha Hari Sarker welcomed to the South Asia Biosafety Program (SABP): Dr Sarker is SABP Bangladesh’s new Country Manager. . . .
Farmers buying fertilizer at prices higher than those set by government, which insists there is no crisis: Farmers are paying premiums ranging from 20 to over 50 percent over government-set prices for 50-kg sacks of Triple Super Phosphate (TSP), Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Muriate of Potash (MOP). . . .
Bumper crops in Bangladesh autumn harvests with Chinese know-how: Beans, cauliflower, eggplant, gourds, green chili pepper, potatoes, radishes and tomatoes were abundant this year in Manikganj district, northwest of Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. . .
Supply of quality seed below one-fourth of total demand: State-owned Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) lags the private sector in producing high-yield quality seed necessary for agricultural success. . . .
Soaring Chuadanga District cotton production: 10,000 tonnes of hybrid cotton are expected this year after an increase in the number of cotton farmers and land area under cultivation (from 4,000 to 4,332 ha). . . .
Promising new cotton variety CDB Tula 1: Bangladesh may free itself from import dependence via high-yield, drought-tolerant, quicker maturing and disease-resistant homegrown cotton variety . . .
Rajshahi and Bogra Agricultural Zone wheat harvests: 403,000 tonnes are expected from 133,000 hectares in Rajshahi’s eight districts, with another 47,735 from 37,570 hectares in four districts of Bogra. . . .
See all Bangladesh seed industry news here
Cambodian Rice Exports Recovering: The Cambodia Rice Federation expects milled rice exports will rise to 700,000 metric tonnes in 2022 after dropping 8.7 percent in 2021 to 630,000 tonnes from 690,000 in 2020. . . .
See all Cambodia seed industry news here.
Two Newly Reduced Foreign Investment Negative Lists Announced: For the fifth consecutive year, China has reduced the number of items on the country’s “negative lists” (items forbidden to foreign investment). . .
China Seed Law Amended: A newly amended seed law was adopted during the closing session of the 13th National People’s Congress Standing Committee . . .
Quiantang District of Zhejiang Wins Achievement Award: Quiantang District of Zhejiang, just south of Shanghai on China’s central coast, saw year-on-year increases in 2021 of large-scale early and late rice planting areas . . .
Syngenta Acquiring Anhui Jianghuai Horticulture Seeds: In its first acquisition in China’s vegetable seed business since being established, Syngenta Group China’s China National Seed Group is taking over Anhui Jianghuai Horticulture Seeds. . .
Avian Depredations Can Amount to 20% of Wheat: Sparrows are small but they consume a considerable percentage of China’s grains -- up to 20 percent if not driven away. . . .
Qinghai Province Reaps Near 3.5 billion Yuan From Cash Crops: In 2021, Qinghai Province, in western China on the border of Xinjiang planted 44,700 ha to vegetables and 8,600 to fruits: output totaled 1.524 million tonnes and 158,300 tonnes respectively. . .
5th International Import Expo to be held next November in Shanghai: The 5th edition of the CIIE is planned to be held November 5-10, 2022 in Shanghai, China. . . .
Golden Sorghum in Your Glass: A contract for production and processing of pure, waxy Taiwan Golden Sorghum (Tainan No. 7 and No. 8) was signed. . . .
Commercial planting of GM soybeans in China closer as grain security becomes goal: Examination and approval processes are clarified, and technical standards set for further modification of already-approved GM varieties, in draft regulations aimed at ensuring grain security in China. . .
National Bureau of Statistics Releases 2021 Grain Output Data: Output of high-yield corn increased by 23.8 billion jins (1 jin = 500 grams) year-on-year, or 4.6%. Soybeans decreased by 6.4 billion catties (1 cattie = 500 grams) or 16.4%. . . .
National Chung Hsing University and WorldVeg in research Pact: December 8: The World Vegetable Center signed an MoU with National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) . . .
Golden Sorghum in Your Glass: A contract for production and processing of pure, waxy Taiwan Golden Sorghum (Tainan No. 7 and No. 8) was signed. . . .
See all China seed industry news here
Punjab CM assures compensation for paddy, protest farmers: Following what was described as “marathon discussions” between a delegation from the Punjab-based farmers organization, Kisan Majdoor Sangharsh Committee and the Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, the latter has reportedly agreed to extend relief to Basmati rice growers whose crops were damaged by hail storms this past Kharif (summer/rainy) season. . . .
Odisha govt dishes out cyclone compensation to farmers: The Odisha government on December 27 announced a ₹507-crore ($5.7 billion) compensation scheme for farmers whose crops were damaged or destroyed by “unseasonal rain” that was brought with Cyclone Jawad on December 4 and 5. . . .
India relaxes restrictive conditions that impeded seed imports: APSA has been informed through the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSIII) that the Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine & Storage (DPPQ&S) of India’s Department of Agriculture, Co-operation and Farmers' Welfare (DA&FW), has agreed to relax restrictive import conditions that have impeded inbound (re-export) seed shipments for the past several months. . . .
Haryana facing urea shortage: A cropping crisis stemming from a shortage of urea is brewing in the state of Haryana. . . .
5mn ha of crops lost to ‘climate crisis: Some five million hectares of Indian crops have been damaged or destroyed in the first 11 months of 2021, and a total of 36 million hectares have been affected by “hydro-meteorological calamities” since 2016. . . .
HP cropping delayed by dry spell: Crop sowing in the lower Kangra district in the state of Himachal Pradesh has been delayed by a prolonged period of no rain, which has caused hesitation to sow Rabi crops, including wheat, maize and paddy, as well as citrus crops . . .
India releases SOP for ag use of drones: IHS Markit Agribusiness Expert reports that the Indian government has released a standard operating procedure (SOP) involving the use of drones for the application of pesticides in agriculture, forestry and non-cropped areas. . . .
Rabi sowing update: According to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the total area sown during the ongoing Rabi season as of December 3 was at around 25.40 lakh or 2.54 million hectares. . . .
Gujarat groundnut varieties in demand in Tamil Nadu: There have been reports of “aggressive buying” by Tamil Nadu based traders of two peanut varieties: Gujarat Junagadh Groundnut-9 (GJG-9) and Kadiri-66 (K9). . . .
These stories in more on Indian seed industry news page
Manggari govt promotes nutmeg, spice cultivation: The Manggarai Regency Government has begun to increase cultivation of various spices, including nutmeg , ginger and turmeric. . . .
Mount Sumbing mass tree, community crop planting: The fertile slopes of Mount Sumbing in Temanggung Regency, Central Java, are being sown with some 50,680 seedlings of various trees and cover crops . . .
Chii prices rise in West Kalimantan: The price of chili in West Kalimantan has increased as 2021 draws to a close. . . .
Palm oil output, demand forecast to rise in 2022: Output of crude palm oil in Indonesia next year has been forecast to reach more than 51 million tonnes. . .
Changing diets for growing middle class: A report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) has observed changing diet preferences in a growing middle class in Indonesia. . . .
These stories in more on Indonesian seed industry news page
MAFF notifies trading partners of new emergency phyto measure revisions: The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has notified international trading partners of plans to revise several regulations concerning various phytosanitary processes, citing “the emergency nature of preventing pests of the most serious concern. . . from entering Japan.” . . .
Read this story and more in Japan seed industry news
Korean NPPO removes 34 pests, adds 17 to quarantine pest lists. The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) of Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) has amended the country’s quarantine pest list by removing 34 pests and adding 17. . .
Microscope seed photography expo: A special exhibition for electron microscope seed photography will be held at the Jeju Technopark until February 4, next year. . . .
Read these stories and more in our Korea seed industry news
‘Worst ever’ floods displace 70,000, prompting massive relief: December 28:Dozens have been killed, tens of thousands have been displaced while villages, infrastructure and vast swathes of cropland in at least eight Malaysian states were inundated earlier this month by what have been described by some reports as the “worst ever floods”. . .
Read these stories and more in our Malaysia seed industry news
Hopes for blossoming cotton sector in Magway: There are high hopes for increased productivity for the cotton industry in the Magway region ahead of next year’s monsoon season from mid-May to mid-June. . . .
Paddy planting hardships: Farmers in some regions of Myanmar are reportedly facing hardships due to rising commodity prices and inflation following last year’s military coup and public health crisis. . . .
Phaungpyin, Khandee paddy falls short: Paddy production in the Sagaing Region's Phaungpyin Township is reportedly less than half of the previous year’s output, citing a shortage of water and rainfall. . .
Pulses, soybean yields drying out: Harvests of soybeans and pulses crops in the Tada-U Township of Magyidaw have fell short of expectations. . . .
Read these stories and more in our Myanmar seed industry news
Asian Seed Congress 2023 in Christchurch: The Asia and Pacific Seed Alliance (APSA) Asian Seed Congress is tentatively scheduled for November 2023 at the Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. . ..
More on New Zealand seed industry news page.
Govt pushes forward with ATP, seed supply: The Federal government on December 29 asked provincial authorities to expedite Agriculture Transformation Plan (ATP), which has provisions to distribute high-quality seeds.
Association chief forecasts 2022 wheat shortage: Cereal Association of Pakistan Founder and Chairman Muzzammil Chappal has forecast that his country’s wheat supply would be short of demand next year. . .
Rice surplus to be exported: The Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam confirmed that Pakistan plans to export its surplus stock of rice to new markets globally. . .
Poppy Seed exporters seek seed distinction: Exporters of white poppy seeds are asking for the Federal government to eliminate a discrepancy, which has been hampering the trade of khashkhash – white poppy seeds . . .
Syngenta Pakistan gets new GM: Syngenta Pakistan has announced that Zeeshan Hasib Baig will be appointed as General Manager with effect from January 10, 2022. . . .
More on Pakistan seed industry news page.
Charity farming filling the need: A charity “Food from the Heart” is partnering with retailer, “The Local Farm”, to provide fresh vegetables and fruits for up to 2,000 needy families as part of a year -long pilot project, planned to launch this coming January. . .
More on Singapore seed industry news page.
Chia Tai Officer Wins Agro-Business Award: Chia Tai Senior Vice President of Seed Business Chaiyapan Limpiwan was chosen by the Foundation of Science and Technology Council of Thailand (FSTT) for their distinguished citizen of the year award in the category of agricultural business. . .
Thai Sugar Export Prospects: After two years of drought Thai sugar marketeers are eyeing a return to prosperity despite intense competition in export markets from India and Brazil and uncertain shipping conditions. . . .
East-West Thailand to Distribute Breeding Varieties Developed Under Royal Sponsorship: East-West Seed Thailand will collaborate with the Chaipattana Foundation to distribute breeding varieties developed under royal sponsorship. . . .
More Thai seed industry news.
Super Typhoon Rai causes widespread crop damage: According to data from the Department of Agriculture, super typhoon Rai has wreaked nearly USD 117.5 million in damages affecting around 70,177 hectares and over 100,000 metric tons of food. . . .
Promoting indigenous vegetables that are slowly disappearing: The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) have launched a project to document and promote indigenous vegetables . . .
More on the Philippines seed industry news page.
Turkey now a net seed exporter: The Turkish seed industry has increased its production 8-fold in the last 20 years, according to Hacı Ömer Güler, a member of the Turkish Seed Association (TÜRKTOB). . .
TYAB Chairman calls for fairer contracts: According to a statement by Hacı Ömer Güler, Chairman of the Seed Growers Sub-Association (TYAB) and member of the Turkish Seed Growers Association (TÜRKTOB), farmers are struggling with rising input costs, drought, and the one-sided unilateral contracts . . .
Certified wheat seeds sales decrease: According to Turkish Seed Association (TÜRKTOB) Vice President Savaş Akcan, the use of certified wheat seeds has decreased by 30 percent. . . .
More on Turkey seed industry news page
OMO donates 40,000 seed balls: Responding to the Prime Minister's project to plant one billion trees in the 2021-2025 period, OMO aims to plant one million trees in 5 years. . . .
Scientists master seed production technology: Vietnamese scientists master the production process of high-quality vegetable seeds, which are 20-50% cheaper than imported seeds of the same type. . . .
More than 3,500 planting area codes issued: The Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) has to date issued more than 3,500 planting area codes for fruit trees, vegetables, and seeds for export. . . .
Application of tray plating, transplanting machine reduces seeds usage by 50%: In a statement issued by Mr. Huynh Ngoc Nha, Director of Soc Trang Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, mechanization at the sowing stage plays an important part alongside the use of high-yielding, specialty rice varieties to improve rice quality. . . .
These and more in Vietnam seed industry news
The above is only a sample of what’s new. For more of all the latest news updates from around the region, visit our respective news portals by country:
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Australia |
Bangladesh |
Cambodia |
China |
India |
Indonesia |
Japan |
Korea, South |
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Laos |
Malaysia |
Myanmar |
Nepal |
New Zealand |
Pakistan |
Philippines |
Singapore |
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Thailand |
Turkey |
Vietnam |
Central Asia |
Middle East |
International |
Asian Seed magazine Vol. 27 No.4 (Quarter 4, 2021)
Our fourth and final issue of Asian Seed and Planting Material Volume 27 brings into perspective the immediate past, present and future of the seed industry with respect to a number of important news, initiatives, developments and trends. Starting with updates from APSA president and Executive Director which include updates from the recent Annual General Meeting, technical sessions and other important matters, the magazine issue has exclusive updates from the China seed industry. We have a story announcing the winners for APSA’s new excellence recognition program in which we name the five most influential seed scientists of the Asia-Pacific in 2021. There is also an interview with the lead of the 2021 Access to Seeds Index, which scores, ranks and compares leading international seed companies on their efforts to provide quality seeds throughout Africa, South and Southeast Asia. We also have an update in the form of a Q&A with the ISF about gene-editing trends, policies and communications. There’s a spread containing the Executive Summary of the OECD’s recent report looking at the impacts of Covid, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region, and which was based on several surveys, including those conducted by APSA this and last year on the topic. Our main cover feature takes a deep dive into the current trend for rising energy and shipping costs, which will continue to have monumental impacts on the bottom line for the international seed trade. We also have updates on advocacy and policy initiatives taken on by APSA and associates in several countries in the region. This is in addition to our regular updates from APSA’s Technical Affairs.
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