b"to home. As the father of three children and husband to a wonder-ful wife, ensuring that he was able to be part of his work team, the ISF team and have plenty of time for family time was important. Fortunately, the consensus seemed to be drawn in a resound-ing yes.But, though the presidency wasnt part of a grand plan, van Leeuwen says he believes that he has a passion for getting things doneand obviously, that wasnt going unnoticed. Now, that drive to get things done is evident during his presidency. With the ISF board of directors and secretariat to help, the first objective van Leeuwen notes that hes been working on is achieving the Key Strategic Objectives (KSO) of ISF. In particular, van Leeuwen says two aspects of the KSOs call for urgent attention: the ability to move seed globally and ending hunger. While the task is quite large, ISF is looking into new ways to continue regulatory discussions around the subject and isVan Leeuwen participated on a panel discussion about engaging taking on new projectssuch as the Seed Resilience partner- future generations at the World Seed Congress in Barcelona.ship with Fair Planetto propel those goals further.He also wants to address bettering the coexistence between plant breeders' rights and farmers' rights. The consequences can be majorif a grower doesnt have Theres always this big debate between plant breeders'as much choice when it comes to seed, food production and rights and farmers' rights, he says. What we want to try and dofood security can come under pressure. is improve the narrative and better explain that these types ofIts a complex discussion, but van Leeuwen believes that a rights can easily coexist in countries, especially if you look purelymore resilient and sustainable food chain starts with the free at the interest of farmers and societies. movement of seed.Finally, van Leeuwen hopes to involve and mobilize businessIf you dont understand that concept, then you can never leaders in a better way and to get the next generation of seedbuild those food chains, he says. professionals onboard. From the ISF perspective, van Leeuwen says the organization Though there are a lot of technical specialists involved inis working and forming better connections with organizations organizations like Euroseeds and ISF, van Leeuwen says thereslike the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization and the World more that business leaders can be doing, especially when itTrade Organization to ensure seeds reach farmers. comes to engaging and fostering a dialogue with society at large.In addition, those types of trade issues lead into other We as a seed sector are at the start of the food chain, butproblems as well, like zero risk policies in terms of pests and we cannot work alone, van Leeuwen says. We need to get thatseed tests that are preventing seed from coming into countries, dialogue going. We need to speak with everybody, and we needregardless if a pest or pathogen is seed borne and biologically to be challenged as well. relevant or not. Without that feedback and support, its difficult for the seedFinally, labor continues to be a global concernboth in busi-sector to be able to work and better engage with everyonenesses, but more importantly, on the farm. Its beginning to raise along the seed value chain.concerns, especially in response to feeding the globe.Were in a paradigm shift from the pastnow, we are seek- The question is: whos going to take care of food production ing more engagement with society at large and its internationalin the next decades? van Leeuwen asks. Its a serious concern organizations, he says. people still think that working in agriculture isnt attractive. We need to team up as a seed sector with industries to tackle this Concerns for the Future, Solutions to Offer problem, because otherwise, we will have an issue.There are a lot of exciting developments on the table with vanTo create the brightest future, van Leeuwen sees a path for-Leeuwen as president of ISF, but, the good always comes alongward, but it might not be the easiest: continuing to build a better with some challenges as well. dialogue and better image of the seed sector to create an under-As ISFs team works to create a world where seed can movestanding of the importance of seed as a starting point for food freely without restrictions, one major barrier coming into play isproduction. It might be daunting, but van Leeuwen believes its a the idea of protectionism. Because of that, van Leeuwen noticesreachable goal, as long as the seed sector continues to engage that trade barriers are on the rise again. other stakeholders, regulators and society as a whole. A decade ago, we were talking about how the world was flatIf we get all of these things together, then we will have a very in support of global trade, but now, it seems as if were headingbright future of people recognizing the importance of the seed the opposite way, he says. More and more countries have spe- sector as a solution provider, he says. Well be able to con-cific rules, regulations, policiesif seed cannot move broadly,tribute to a better world, where people have access to all these farmers arent guaranteed access to the varieties of their choice. beautiful, plant-based products.SW20/ SEEDWORLD.COMINTERNATIONAL EDITION 2023"