b'SEEDS CANADA / SEEDS-CANADA.CA / WE HAVE A GOOD STORY TO TELL AND MANY WAYS TO CONTRIBUTETHE SPOTLIGHT IS ON SUSTAINABILITY IN THE INTERNATIONAL SEED SECTORI HAD MY first opportunity to attend InternationalBut, as a new Royal Bank of Canada special Seed Federation (ISF) interim meetings ofreport points out, regulatory requirements can the coordination groups at the beginning ofact as barriers to deployment of genetic innova-November. The meetings were held in Rome,tion. Developers need to be able to use new Italy, and this certainly wasnt just for the numer- innovations and farmers need to be granted ous gelato shops alone (although this did influ- access to them.ence my enthusiasm to attend). Besides gelato, pasta and the Pope, Rome is also home to the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Lauren Comin,Nations. On the morning of our Environmental, Regulatory AffairsEthical and Social Responsibility (EESR) ISF Manager coordination group meeting, we had the oppor- DEVELOPERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO USE tunity to attend the opening ceremony of theNEW INNOVATIONS AND FARMERS NEED TO FAOs First Global Conference on Sustainable Plant Production.BE GRANTED ACCESS TO THEM.ISF Secretary General Michael Keller deliv-ered one of the mornings keynote speeches, highlighting the importance of seed.The sustainability story for seed has two branches. The first is a very good news story that we need to be prepared to tell. As Michael stated in his keynote speech, the journey to sus- The second branch of the seed sustainability tainability starts with seed.story requires some work and adoption of new Genetics, delivered as seed, can contributebest practices. Just like crop production, seed to both adaptation to a changing environmentproduction is a contributor to emissions. As new and mitigation of further changes. Because ofproduction practices are developed in the quest the way seed is developed and commercialized,to achieve sustainability, the seed sector needs to each year Canadian farmers have access to newpay attention and follow suit. varieties that are adapted to the growing condi- Land use, water use and labour will all need tions of today.to be optimized to ensure the least possible Scientists are able to access the plantsnegative impact on society and the environment. genome and optimize traits present, includingSustainably produced seed will be required to nitrogen use efficiency, root architecture, photo- feed into a sustainable crop production system, synthetic capability, drought tolerance and more.as a part of a finished products lifecycle.New plant breeding innovations are opening theThe spotlight on sustainability in our sector door to even more power.is not fading away. In fact, as I write this, ISF In collaboration with pest and climate model- is representing the seed sector at the United ling, scientists can get a jumpstart, tailoring theNations Climate Change Conference COP27, in plants genetics to resist, and even thrive, amidstCairo, Egypt. predicted biotic and abiotic stressors. MoreSeed is certainly not a silver bullet; we wont crops, with higher quality, can be producedachieve our global goals with seed innovation faster with similar or smaller footprints with newalone. But rest assured, we have a good story to breeding technologies than they could without. tell and many opportunities to contribute. 28GERMINATION.CAJANUARY 2022'