2013 World Seed Congress Held in Greece

The International Seed Federation (ISF) organized the 2013 World Seed Congress in Athen, Greece last May 27-29, 2013. Technical meetings were held during the Congress which became an opportunity for the industry to promote and share best practices; they acted as a forum for debate and to receive the latest updates. ISF's main goal is to facilitate the international seed trade, and from that angle, delegates saw a high level line up of speakers from the international arena on the recent developments: the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, the Nagoya Protocol, the OECD, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the International Seed Testing Association, the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the International Plant Protection Convention. All these organizations have a potential impact on the seed industry, and ISF had contributed to shaping them.

During the congress, ISF adopted two position papers: the ‘ISF View on Low Level Presence in Seed' and the ‘ISF Viewpoint on Indirect Seed Health Tests'. The next ISF World Seed Congress will take place in Beijing, China in May 2014.

For more information, contact Marchel Bruins at m.bruins@worldseed.org.