b'ISTVAN RAJCAN ACCEPTS PLANT BREEDING & GENETICS AWARDAttendees of the 2022 Seeds Canada Semi-Annual Meeting took time to celebrate legendary plant breeder Istvan Rajcan, who formally accepted the Plant Breeding & Genetics Award sponsored by Germination and Seeds Canada.The award is part of the Canadian Plant Breeding Innovation Awards program and is presented annually to a public or private sector researcher who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of Canadian plant agriculture through research in plant breeding and genetics.Rajcan joined the faculty at the University of Guelph in 1998. His germplasm is now present in a large percentage of commercially successful soybean varieties grown in Eastern Canada. His products have also been grown beyond Ontario in Quebec, Manitoba and Eastern Europe. Theyve also gained major recognition with soybean end users throughout Europe and Asia. Being a good plant breeder means being engaged with everyone we interact with, and that includes students themselves. I often tell them I learned from Originally from Serbia, Rajcan sat down for a Germinationthem as much as they learn from me. They make me a better mentor and better Giant Views interview and said his successes116 publications and 85 varieties developed, and 48 gradprofessor. A friend of mine many years ago said that a grad student is like a rose. If students trainedare due largely to the fabulous mentors hes had over the years. theyre treated well, they will bloom and be beautiful.ensure that Canadas seed sector has a continuous dialogue at allFor Derkatch, the only way to craft a regulatory system that times to ensure those incremental regulatory improvements can bewill benefit Canada long-term is to ensure the right discussions made when theyre needed, Comin said. take place through the SRM process and the resulting regulatory The need for timely regulatory change was a big theme atframework allows the seed industry to be adaptable.the meeting. During a panel discussion featuring seed industryHaving a multi-stakeholder group setting standards for the professionals, the fact that technological change is coming at theindustry would be an incredible tool for us. Having everyone industry faster than ever was made clearas was the need foraround that table through an independent body would be pow-industry to be able to respond to those changes quickly, some- erful. Ive often said if youre not at the table, you quite possibly thing that will only be made possible through smart regulation. might be on the menu. Thats the situation were faced with in the Ive spent 38 years in a sector focused on continu- world of today.ous improvement. Thats what genetic progress is about.Being able to compete in todays world is a big concern of Improvement is really another word for change, said DaveSeeds Canada policy director Lorne Hadley. In an interview for Harwood, technical services manager for Corteva AgriscienceGerminations Giant Views series, Hadley said Canada has a long based in Chatham, Ont.and proud history of reviewing its regulatory sphere. Still, its crucial The size and sophistication of our industry and customersto get the outcome of SRM right.has changed so dramatically; weve seen a major transition toIve been involved in several historical projects around seed genetically modified crops and we now deal with an internationalmodernization, like SRM. We had the National Forum on Seed and trade framework thats more complicated than ever. Averagea seed sector review with the National Seed Sector Roundtable. We yields have skyrocketed. Having a nimble, agile regulatory systemhope we go to a continuous improvement framework, he said. is paramount for these reasons and many more, Harwood said. We need a continuous improvement approach where the Regulatory systems that enable continuous improvementvalue chain, the seed sector and the government collaborate to are being implemented around the world, noted Brent Derkatch,have ongoing discussions and make continuous improvement pedigreed seed business unit director for Canterra Seeds inregularly, not on a project basis. Thats where Seeds Canada is Manitobaand its crucial Canada keeps pace if it is to competehoping we go.on the global stage.As far as actual regulatory change is concerned, he said Seeds As competing countries, every nation wants to put its seedCanadas focus is on whether the regulations actually support products into the marketplace. Quite frankly, standing still is actu- members in serving their customers needs. ally falling behind. Whatever that new technology might be, what- Our members need to be able to do what is necessary to ever the next international trade barrier that might pop up, webe innovative and bring innovative products to the customer. have to have a system thats going to accommodate this continualRegulation, if it impairs that, is not beneficial. SWevolution, he said. INTERNATIONAL EDITION 2023SEEDWORLD.COM /69'