b'FOCUS ON THE FUTUREFor these giants of the global seed business, the key to succeeding in a post-pandemic world is setting ambitious goals and concentrating on accomplishing them. Marc Zienkiewicz, Sonja Begemann, Marcel Bruins and Alex Martin ELLEN SPARRY HAShad a busy year, to say the least. industry under one roofseed analysts, plant breeders, On Feb. 1, 2021, Canadas new national seed organi- distributors, producers and many others, Sparry says.zationSeeds Canadawent live. Made up of fourIf anything defined 2021, it was just thata need for amalgamating partnersthe Canadian Seed Tradealignment. Whether it was a world struggling to har-Association, Commercial Seed Analysts Association ofmonize a patchwork of travel protocols that saw some Canada, Canadian Seed Institute and Canadian Plantcountries shun certain vaccines, or a budding energy Technology AgencySparry agreed to serve as presi- crisis that saw fuel costs begin to skyrocket, the year was dent to lead the board into uncharted waters. a roller coaster that left many trying to steer their business Uniting a large chunk of Canadas seed industry underthrough turbulent waters while doing the basic business one banner had been talked about for many years, butof seed.never saw the light of day until now. The major challenges, regardless of the pandemic, are Discussions have gone on for over a decade. I thinkhigh quality seed production, intellectual property protec-it was 2009 when it first came up, so it has been a goaltion and [increasing] innovation, says May Kanokwan for quite a while. For a long time, we were a somewhatChodchoey, executive director of the Asia-Pacific Seed fractured industry, says Sparry, who serves as generalAssociation (APSA).manager for Ontarios C&M Seeds.The amalgamation of the four partners comes at an important time in the countrys history, as efforts are underway to modernize both Canadas seed regulatory system and novel food regulations. The desire to lobby for itself as a united industryto speak with a single voicewas a major driving factor in the formation of Seeds Canada.We knew from meeting with government over the years that we needed to get ourselves better aligned. We now have over 200 members from all areas of the 18GERMINATION.CAJANUARY 2022'