b'Improving Variety Development and Delivery Requires a Global PerspectiveANY COUNTRY THATwants to help feed the worldeties. Traceability systems are crucial in helping do this. and be competitive on the global stage needs toThe seed sector and farmers must partner up to increase empower its farmers by putting variety developmentfarmers capacity to use seeds in effective ways.and delivery at the forefront of its agricultural strategy.The benefits to society of variety development/Farmers want to ensure better yields, economicplant breeding are many. According to the report stability of their farm, and make farming easier and lessReturns from Private Sector Seed Research from Iowa labor/input intensive. They do this through the use ofState University, society (mainly farmers) reap 75% of improved varieties. Better varieties also opens up newthe total benefits. Farmers get a $6 benefit for each $1 market for those farmers, bolstering the export poten- spent on private sector research.tial of what they produce.MARCEL BRUINS Of course, to do any of this, farmers need access is a consultant whoto high quality seed and suitable new plant varieties. received a plantEnabling this access is key to ensuring food securityPlant breeding can help mitigate all these breeding educationand economic development, including in developingchallenges. More than ever, we need modern from Wageningencountries. University in theAccording to Oxfam, over 80 million people cur- regulatory frameworks that put plant breeding Netherlands and isrently do not have enough to eat. Around nine millionand new varieties at the forefront. editorial directorpeople die every year of hunger and hunger related for European Seed diseases. Thats 11 deaths per minute. This is more thanmagazine.the number of deaths from AIDS, malaria and tubercu-losis combined. In the European Union, for every 1 invested in plant So, whats needed to ensure farmers have accessbreeding, 40 in added value is delivered across the to new varieties that meet market demands? A regula- wider economy. This statistic, from the British Society tory framework that encourages the development ofof Plant Breeders report Economic Impact of Plant innovative varieties and the production of and deliveryBreeding, takes into account higher yields and input of high-quality seed of suitable varieties to farmers. savings at the farm level.Sounds simple, but is anything but. Crafting such aWe have a growing world population that in about regulatory system that enables plant breeding innova- 30 years time will be close to 10 billion people. At the tion requires a global perspective that takes a numberend of the century, well over 11 billion people will need of things into account.to have nutritious and safe food. Over 800 million Modern regulatory frameworks must consider howpeople around the world are undernourished. indispensable plant breeding is. On the other side of the bell curve, 640 million They must enable breeding and reduce barrierspeople are classified as obese. Nearly two billion to innovation, must encourage breeders to team uppeople on the planet are overweight. In terms of food with farmers in the development of new varieties, andlosses and food waste, the United Nations estimates take into account that regulatory change is inevitable,that were losing around a third of all the food that is thereby allowing the easy updating of said regulationsproduced for human consumption.with minimal red tape. Plant breeding can help mitigate all these chal-However, the modernization of regulatory systemslenges. More than ever, we need modern regulatory requires the public to be on board. To facilitate this,frameworks that put plant breeding and new varieties industry must reach out to ensure it strengthen itsat the forefront and enable breeders to work with as relationships with those who use its products. Consumerfew constraints as possible. Creating those frameworks education is important in order to build trust in new vari- requires all of us to think globally. SW 80/ SEEDWORLD.COMJUNE 2022'