b'might not have global harmonization in place, he says. Theresfarmers to farm sustainability, raising awareness on biodiversity, a lot of precaution in the regulatory process, and it leads to anworking to uplift women farmers and teaching the next genera-absence of a scientific or science-based discourse. tion of young farmers in Africa.Without this harmonization, theres a lot of minor issuesIn terms of future vision, we really want to continue to that pop up in the regulatory space as well. Ahmed anticipatesleverage our impact and focus on African farmers and the next discussions on intellectual property rights disputes, environ- generation, Muller said.mental concerns, access to more diverse germplasm, etc. Transformation of agriculture is a two-way street, said Most of these discussions are being driven more by socio- Jason Allerding, global head of sustainability, health, safety and political factors than science-based discourse, he says. risk management of Syngenta Seeds, during the panel. You We need short-term solutions to very big challenges thatcant just hand out information or great technologiesthey were seeing in the world right now, he said. We do havehave to be understood, appreciated and leveraged fully by those solutions, but do we make them accessible in the regions wherewho receive them. Thats where capacity building is so impor-theyre required most? tant.He says a lack of clear guidelines or consistent enforcementWithin that, educating communities and customers about may contribute to the challenges faced in addressing environ- the value of agriculture and the quality of seed, as well as mental issues effectively.making those quality seeds and education accessible, is critical, On the bullish side of things, theres some positive news: thehe added.seed sector is moving in the right direction to tackle quite a fewEven within Allerdings role within ISF, as part of the ESR of these challenges to our society. group, its a similar mission. A lot of it is educating about sus-When I was walking around yesterday, there was a lottainability overall, he said.being talked about in terms of soil health, plant and seedFundamentally, capacity building for our industry is criti-health, seed treatments and biological seed treatments beingcal to unlock this value in the mission we have, he said.made available to a wider grower base, Ahmed said. Case in point, it can be difficult to develop a practical exam-ple for capacity building. Syngentas seed production in South Africa has partnered with Stellenbosch University to establish a regenerative ag trial. The program has established three differ-To watch the discussion visit youtu.be/McY40gi04QA ent trials to implement different regenerative ag practices, such as no-till and continuous soil cover, while also doing them in tandem with local South African growers.Our growers are able to come and learn with us and from Capacity Building Strengthens Smallholder Farmers in Africa us by partnering with us, he added. [It is] actually a chance As an industry, there are several pieces of a puzzle that need tofor us to build capacity in real time.be addressed and placed in proper spots. The seed sector mustEast-West Seeds focuses on a similar approach. The goal is ensure everyone is fed in our global society in a sustainableto focus on training farmers and with trainers localized on the way to protect our environment for the future. This needs to beground so the growers can bring back that knowledge to their done in a harmonious manner while finding a way to producevillages.more food on less land. Muller says Asia has had a lot of capacity building examples, Does this puzzle seem to be the most difficult one to solve?like in Myanmar, where women and youth didnt have access to It certainly appears to be a significant challenge, as finding thethe market at all. East-West Seed came in to help them in vari-right solution for it is proving to be quite demanding. ous ways, and a survey showed their incomes increased consid-The World Seed Congress tackled the questions of environ- erably along with their yields.ment and social responsibility in Africa by asking some hardBut this is only the beginning, and we hope to continue to questions, including: how is the seed sector impacting andput on major knowledge transfer programs across [Africa], but giving back to smallholder farmers both in terms of the envi- we need partnerships for that, Muller said.ronment and society? Universities as well are participating in capacity building by Its all about serving the smallholder farmers. We believeeducating students on the ground in agribusiness management.that market development and people development cannotWe have a lot of students from Africa, said Germn exist without the other, said Maya Muller, public affairs andFernndez, CEO and president of the International School of communication specialist with East-West Seeds, during theAgri Management (ISAM). What they like about our pro-Channel World Seed Coverage of the conference in Capegrams is that were not focused on the technical sidewe are Town, South Africa. only focused on the agribusiness management and the export While thats a difficult task to manage, Muller says theresmarket.a slew of things to consider while working on environmentalTo achieve that, the ISAM program has students visit more and societal development: transferring technical skills, trainingthan 40 companies that represent the whole supply chain to JULY 2023 GERMINATION.CA 43'