Dr. Boonyanath Nathwong currently the President of Thai Seed Trade Association (THASTA) and Director of Regulatory Affairs for Seed and Traits, Bayer Crop Science, Thailand. A post – graduate in Plant Biotechnology from John Innes Centre, University of East Anglia, Norwich (UK), Dr. Boonyanath was a researcher at the National Center for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Thailand, prior to her joining the seed industry. She was sitting in Thailand seed hub executive committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to develop Thailand seed hub strategy to promote seed industry in Thailand. After that Dr. Boonyanath continues to support public and private collaboration to implement the seed hub policy that has significantly enhanced corn and vegetables seed production and export. In addition, the implementation has also resulted in seed health lab accreditation, e-phyto system for seed import and export, product – based gene editing regulation that exempts gene edited products without foreign DNA from GMOs, Corn after Rice programme. Currently, THASTA is collaborating with the Department of Agriculture to development regulation to authorize field inspection accreditation and revision of plant variety protection law.
Best Practices on Third-Party Laboratory Accreditation, International & Thailand Experience
In 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, the National Science and Technology Development Agency, and the Thai Seed Trade Association (THASTA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on promoting the "Thailand Seed Hub". Since then, several initiatives have been implemented under the strategic pillars, including regulatory amendments that enable the accreditation of private sector laboratories to perform seed testing for phytosanitary certification.
In 2022, the Department of Agriculture (DoA), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC), issued an amended regulation on phytosanitary certification for export and re-export. This followed close collaboration between the DoA and THASTA, which facilitated the development of seed testing laboratory accreditation requirements in accordance with Thai and international regulations and guidelines, as well as capacity-building initiatives to support private laboratories in their accreditation applications. This early collaboration resulted in the completion of proficiency testing and accreditation in significantly reduced lead times. Currently, the DoA accredits five seed testing laboratories: four operated by seed producers and one service laboratory.
Seed testing laboratory accreditation initiatives have significantly improved the efficiency of seed production and export by reducing timelines and workloads for both the DoA and seed producers in obtaining phytosanitary certification, resulting in enhanced operational accuracy and cost savings. Furthermore, this success has paved the way for the development of field inspection accreditation as the next phase.
