Quality Seed | Quality Life
March 2023 Newsletter
Welcome everyone to APSA’s March 2022 newsletter. I am delighted to report on all of the significant progress we are making towards our strategic priorities, particularly in building and maintaining public-private partnerships.
As you read this, I will be in Sanya on the island of Hainan in southern China, meeting with our associates at the China Seed Congress. China is one of APSA's key countries, and we have a lot of catching up to do, with a host of initiatives and planning ahead of the Asian Seed Congress 2024. In China, I also participated in the signing ceremony for an important memorandum of understanding (MoU), which I will elaborate on shortly.
Prior to flying to China, I accompanied our president Dr. Manish Patel to the International Seed Federation's executive board meeting in Dubai, where we realigned our priorities and strategies with ISF on several key issues and positions. You will hear more about this in the near future, for now I can say that the seed industry, as the starting point of the food value chain, plays a crucial role in the lead-up to 2030, with sustainability being the buzzword of the decade if not the century and we very much value the SDG number 17 to succeed together.
Our Bangkok-based Secretariat has had a productive quarter one, and I would like to thank them for their sustained dedication! Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the SC International Trade and Quarantine for successfully hosting the 9th Phytosanitary Expert Consultation in Bangkok and Khon Khaen earlier this month. We had excellent participation from our NPPOs from Thailand, India, China, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as representatives from national seed associations and private seed companies. The strengthened dialogue and cooperation between the seed industry and the NPPOs in correctly implementing key international standards, including ISPM 38, ISPM 45, and the electronic phytosanitary or ePhyto certification systems in our region is a great achievement. And for this, I must also thank our collaborators at the International Seed Federation, American Seed Trade Association, and CropLife Asia for their continued cooperation in organizing the consultation.
Additionally, during the consultation, we welcomed our two newly appointed chairs of the group, Dr. Mary Ann Sayoc and John Mizicko, and I would like to welcome these two very capable individuals in their new capacity. I would also like to express my gratitude to our outgoing chair, Michael Leader, for his outstanding leadership over the years, and we look forward to his continued input as a regular committee member. While in Bangkok, I discussed the main industry trends and plans for the committee moving forward with Dr. Sayoc. Dr. Shivendra Bijaj, our Technical Advisor, also sat down with Dr. Rose Souza Richards to discuss seed movement trends. You can listen to these two interviews in this month's APSA Insights, which also has an interview by Event Manager Mike Kingpayom with Thomas Chin of the New Zealand Grain and Seed Trade Association (NZGSTA) about this year’s Asian Seed Congress in Christchurch. Don’t miss them below!
Speaking of Congresses, our president Dr. Manish Patel represented APSA at the recent Bangladesh Seed Congress's first national seed Congress, as well as the NSAI's 9th India Seed Congress, and you can read all about that in his President's Address on page 4 of the magazine below. Let me just congratulate both the BSA and NSAI for their work in elevating their respective national seed sectors to be leaders in the region as key countries for APSA!
On another important note, I would also like to congratulate the NSAI, the Thai Seed Trade Association, the China Seed Association, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in India, Khon Kaen University in Thailand, and Northwest A&F University in China for making history with the first three of more than a dozen planned memorandum of understanding agreements signed this past month as part of our University Connect Program. Watch this space because, in the coming months, we expect to sign many more agreements with our partners in Bangladesh, the Philippines, Pakistan, Malaysia, and more.
Also to look forward to this coming month is APSA’s Working Group of Integrated Vegetable Seed Companies (WIC) midterm meeting, and APSA’s annual National Seed Association meeting, both in Bangkok at the end of April. More details about the meeting will be shared by Mike and Kuna.
Finally, let me close by underlining the importance of cooperation and partnerships between the public and private sectors, which reinforces APSA's mission to ensure the trade of quality seeds for the world. This is what drives our engagement and initiatives with our key stakeholders, including NPPO, NSAs, and agricultural universities. The momentum gained from these partnerships can only continue to gain steam in the coming weeks and months and I look forward to linking up with you all in furthering our agenda ahead. Until we meet, stay safe and diligent. Thank you.
May Chodchoey,
APSA Executive Director
may@apsaseed.org.
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APSA Membership term starts from 1 January to 31 December, 2023. The membership renewal can be done from 1 January, 2023 till 31 March, 2023 to maintain your active status in APSA.
After 31 March, 2023, if your membership is not renewed, your status will be SUSPENDED and this means you will not be able to register to any APSA activities and only able to access the database to get your invoice. Please be informed that APSA Membership Fee is non-refundable, and we do not provide pro-rated membership fee.
Please be advised that all invoices will be available to be viewed and downloaded. To view, print and/or make payment for your invoice, please visit APSA website. For your convenience, please CLICK HERE to view the Tutorial presentation on how to proceed for your APSA 2023 Membership Renewal invoice and payment.
Please be informed that we have successfully opened a new bank account with Standard Chartered Singapore, details below. And we are happy to inform you that you will now be able to settle online payment via Credit / Debit Card.
BANK DETAILS:
Beneficiary's account name: ASIA AND PACIFIC SEED ALLIANCE LTD.
Beneficiary's bank name: Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited
Beneficiary's bank Branch: Battery Road
Beneficiary's bank code: 9496
Beneficiary's bank address: 6 Battery Road, #08-01, Singapore 049909
Beneficiary's Account number (USD): 01-0-600568-5
GIRO/Standing instructions – SCBLSG22XXX
Swift code or IBAN #: SCBLSG22XXX
If you do not know your password, have any problems signing into your account, or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact APSA Membership Coordination Manager, Mr. Komsak (Bobbie) Kamjing at komsak@apsaseed.org
Thank you very much for your support and contribution to APAC seed sector!
Mr. Komsak Kamjing (Bobbie)
APSA Membership Coordination Manager
Mr. Komsak Kamjing (Bobbie)
APSA Membership Coordination Manager
APSA 2023 Working Group of Integrated Vegetable Seed Companies Meeting
APSA will be holding a hybrid Working Group of Integrated Vegetable Seed Companies meeting for a day on April 25, 2023 at Four Points by Sheraton in Bangkok, Thailand. Twenty three WIC member companies will be joining both physically and hybrid to update on current WIC activity implementation and brainstorming new project initiatives this year. This event is INVITE ONLY.
For more details on agenda, please visit the official event page at https://web.apsaseed.org/events/apsa-2023-wic-meeting
APSA 2023 Seed Associations Meeting
APSA will be organizing the APSA 2023 Seed Association Meeting for 2 days from the 26 – 27 April 2023 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Bangkok, Thailand. The main objective of this meeting is to understand the views from Seed Associations on Plant Breeding Innovation regulation, Access and Benefit Sharing of genetic resources, farmer and breeder’s rights and event calendar updated by each Seed Association. This event is INVITE ONLY.
For more details on agenda, please visit the official event page at https://web.apsaseed.org/events/apsa-2023-seed-associations-meeting
APSA Solanaciars TGIF Session 1
On Friday, 28 April 2023, APSA will be holding Session 1 of the 2023 APSA Solanaciars Thank God It’s Friday Webinar Series. This session will focus on Speed Breeding & Rapid Generation Advancement (RGA): Challenges, Prospectus and Progress in Tomato and Peppers and will feature 2 guest speakers; Dr. Houcheng Liu, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China and Dr. Sobhan Sajja, Senior Scientist & Cluster Leader (Crop Improvement Operations Team & Rapid Generation Advancement) ICRISAT, India.
This event is for APSA Members Only. For more details on event agenda, speaker profiler and how to register, please visit https://web.apsaseed.org/events/2023-apsa-solanaciars-tgif-session-1
APSA Seed Technology Webinar Session 1 - Seed Priming
For the 3rd consecutive year, APSA will once again be holding the APSA Seed Technology Webinar Series. Hosted by APSA Standing Committee on Seed Technology, this year will focus on various topics such as Seed Priming, Seed Drying, Seed Disinfection, Seed Quality & Seed Vigor.
On Tuesday, 16 May 2023, APSA will hold Session 1 of the 2023 APSA Seed Technology Webinar. This session will focus on Seed Priming, with guest speaker Dr. Henry Bruggink, Senior Research Technology Specialist, Incotec Europe, ISTA ATC Advanced Technologies Committee.
This event is for APSA Members Only. For more details on event agenda, speaker profiler and how to register, please visit https://web.apsaseed.org/events/2023-apsa-seed-technology-webinar-session-1
OTHER SEED INDUSTRY RELATED EVENTS
World Seed Congress 2023 (June 5 - 7, 2023)
This year’s ISF World Seed Congress will be held 5 – 7 June 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. The congress will be held in the Cape Town International Convention Center (CTICC), the leading convention center in the African continent and located in the heart of Cape Town. South Africa will gather seed professionals from all over the world for business, trading, exhibition, panel discussions, and plenty of networking opportunities.
Registration is now open, until 26 May 2023.
This congress is not to be missed!
If you are interested to learn more about the ISF World Seed Congress 2023, its agenda, registration & sponsorship details and how to attend, please visit https://congress.worldseed.org/
Mike Kingapayom
APSA Event Manager
Welcome to Technical Affairs update. The same as before, let’s start with the APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium.
We are happy to inform you that the registration for 2023 APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium（CLICK HERE to learn more about the consortium benefits.） and its Annual Workshop are on-going, please CLICK HERE to register. Better benefits are provided to 2023 Consortium members including increase of free lines from 10 to 15, add hybrids in the exclusive lines, more training opportunities, and set up annual meeting for discussing special project ideas.
The Annual Workshop & the post-workshop tour of 2023 APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium will be held on May 9-11, 2023, at World Vegetable Center Headquarters in Tainan. Participation in the workshop is open only to registered APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium companies. WorldVeg offers free workshop participation to one employee from each Consortium Company. For more details, please CLICK HERE to visit the Annual workshop event page. Please note that the registration deadline for consortium annual workshop will be on 15 April 2023 to ensure enough time for the onsite logistic arrangement. If you are interested in joining the Annual workshop, please kindly register as soon as possible.
If you have any problem or need help from APSA Secretariat, pls contact APSA Partnership Program Manager Ms. Xiaofeng Li at xiaofeng@apsaseed.org
Ms. Xiaofeng Li
APSA Partnership Program Manager
Standing Committees and Special Interest Groups
Following is the summary review of the APSA SC/SIG activities this month.
Standing Committee on Seed Technology:
The committee during its 2nd meeting on March 31st welcomed a new member from Korea Seed & Variety Service, Dr Woosik Kang. During the meeting, members discussed planning of APSA Seed Technology webinars, which have been organized for the past twi years. This year’s first webinar session will be organized on the theme of seed priming on May 16th; other topics planned include APSA Seed Academy platform, which contains learning modules covering many topics, for which each APSA member company will receive complimentary access to learn more on seed technology, IP and other seed related courses; APSA-ISTA Workshop on Seed Vigor to be held in third quarter, and others. The committee is excited to have many activities this year so stay tuned for more updates.
Standing Committee IPR & Biodiversity:
The SC IPR & Biodiversity did not meet this past month, nevertheless they kept each other updated regularly via email, including on the preparation of the physical APSA Seed Association meeting scheduled on April 26-27 in Bangkok Thailand (invite only visit APSA website for more info). A session on Access and Benefit Sharing for genetic resources will be conducted on the first day, while a session on PVP, farmers rights and breeders’ rights and EDV issues will be conducted on the second day. Aside from this, committee members also joined a few March 2023 UPOV meetings online, including, for example, a seminar on the relation between plant variety protection and the use of plant breeding technologies, as well as a meeting of the Working Group on guidance concerning smallholder farmers in relation to private and non commercial use (WG-SHF/3).
Standing Committee on International Trade & Quarantine:
It has been an outstanding month for the SC ITQ committee, successfully organized the APSA 9th Phytosanitary Expert Consultation on March 7-8 in Bangkok, and concluding on March 9 with a field trip to Khon Kaen, where they visited seed production sites and seed health laboratory of Syngenta, California Seed and Plant Laboratory, which is a third-party seed health testing laboratory accredited by Department of Agriculture of Thailand – as well as a visit to Bayer’s seed processing plant. There were a total of 48 participants (37 physical participants and 11 online participants) including NPPO representatives from 15 countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The industry was represented by nominees of the National Seed Associations from Australia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea. Aside from this, phytosanitary experts from several organizations – the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), CropLife Asia (CLA) and the International Seed Federation (ISF), Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) as well as universities – also participated Updates from NPPOs of the participating countries focused on pest lists for seeds, developments in implementation of ISPM38, phytosanitary requirements for re-export, ePhyto and third-party laboratory accreditation (implementation of ISPM45).
Special Interest Group Field Crops:
The committee last met on March 29th. Committee Chair, Dr Chua Kim Aik warmly welcomed Dr Fan Xingming from Yunnan Tian Rui Seed Industry Co., Ltd. As a new member of the SIG. Dr Fan briefly shared his experience and said that he wishes to use his 40 years’ experience in maize to contribute to the group. In the meeting, the committee decided to organize a webinar on millets to celebrate the International year of Millets #IYM2023. The committee also agreed to organize the APSA hybrid rice and hybrid corn study tour in September and started planning for potential topics of the SIG Field Crops Technical Session in November.
the Special Interest Group on Vegetables and Ornamentals
The SIG Veg & Orn had no committee meeting this month but still have been keeping each other posted on action points from their February committee meeting. A survey has been sent to APSA members to seek favorable countries for a study tour this year. Proposed focuses include an urban farming and hi-tech farming study tour in Singapore, or Japan or UAE; investment opportunities in Africa, and exploring opportunities for contract seed production.
The Working Group of Integrated Vegetable Seed Companies or WIC
WIC Chair and Co-Chair met with the APSA Secretariat on March 28 to ensure a productive WIC midterm meeting on April 25th next month (invite only, for more information visit APSA website). The focus was to brainstorm on the strategic plan for the next three years and agree on new initiatives this year. WIC members will also update on progress and activities concerning the burning issues in the APAC region, University Connect Program, Disease Resistance Terminology (DRT) project and an update on the Seed Innovation and Protection Initiative (SIPI) project.
For The R&D Advisory Group,
The R&D committee decided to continue webinars for the third year. They are happy to announce a new webinar series: the 2023 APSA Solanaciars Thank God It’s Friday! This new webinar series will consist of four sessions covering solanaceous crops in Asia and Pacific Region. The first session will be held on April 28th, as Mike mentioned.
Following on progress from the APSA-ICAR MOU signing last May, a three-year collaborative project between APSA-ICAR-IIHR has been launched, under the working project title of “Breeding for Chilli Leaf Curl Disease (ChiLVD) and South East Asian Thrips (Thrips parvispinus) resistance in Chilli” with ICAR- Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore. Participating companies shall be Indian companies or multinational companies having a subsidiary in India to get utmost benefits of the project Visit https://web.apsaseed.org/events/apsa-iihr-project for more details.
Also this month the ACRT Organizing Chair and Co-Chair met online with APSA Secretariat to agree on potential ACRT speakers and the event is tentatively scheduled to be August. Stay tuned for more updates!
The Disease Resistance Terminology Working Group or DRT,
The DRT Bitter gourd Powdery Mildew Subgroup members signed a Letter of Agreement to extend the project until December 2024. APSA also coordinated with World Vegetable Center South and Central Asia to get the phytosanitary certificate, and be ready to export seeds in April. For the Watermelon Fusarium Wilt subgroup, APSA has ordered seeds from USDA, commencing the phytosanitary process, which is expected to take about six weeks to complete. In the meantime, the group also reviewed the watermelon ring test protocol.
This is all for now for the short SC/SIG updates. Thank you very much and stay tuned for more updates next month.
Kunaporn Phuntunil
APSA Technical Coordination Manager
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As part of APSA’s sustained digitalization and digitization efforts, in 2023 we’re offering active members even more ways to directly reach Asia-Pacific seed industry decision makers -- 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 are pleased to announce our 2023 Digital Media Sponsorship Rates and Media Kit:
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Email: (komsak@apsaseed.org) or Mike (mike@apsaseed.org)
Asian Seed magazine Vol. 29 No.1 (Quarter 1, January - March 2023)
No password required
Volume 29, Issue One of Asian Seed & Planting Material reveals new strides in public-private, private-private partnerships and cooperation to build capacity and harmonize seed-specific phytosanitary standards and rules implementation in the region, exploring a new data-driven breeding app and platform to enhance advanced breeding programs, as well as making way with the University Connect program to link seed associations with agricultural academic institutions in concerted efforts to foster next-generation talent to ensure sustainable seed industry in a digitalized and fast-moving post-Covid era. Furthermore, APSA’s new board and committee chairs are introduced, outcomes from the latest AGM, WIC and phytosanitary expert consultation meetings are covered, along with activities and plans of technical committees and regulatory affairs highlights and news from around the region.
APSA Year in Review 2022
The 2022 Year In Review Document features facts, figures an details about all of the various activities APSA has organized, participated in and carried out this past year. Initiated with addresses from APSA 2022 outgoing president Mr. Wichai Laocharoenpornkul and APSA Executive Director, Dr. Kanokwan Chodchoey, the document covers the highlights from various activities, including APSA’s in-person and online events, technical webinars, as well as various collaborations, initiatives and projects with members, partners and stakeholders. There are also details, metrics and statistics about APSA’s digital media, including our website and social media. Download now
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