b'15 years or longer for simple crops that grow in one season, saysand Pan-African Farmers Organization. We need to develop a Marc Cool, global seed policy leader of Corteva. You must lookstrong partnership between the two so that theyre speaking to far ahead and advance to see what the policy will be so that youeach other.can go to market. For Simon Groot, founder of East-West Seed and 2019 World Cool says this has been a problem since before biotech, espe- Food Prize Laureate, being in the seed industry is more than cially in Europe. However, if a policy could address food as need- delivering quality seedits a matter of the value addition seeds ing to be safe and grown without environmental harm in a waycan bring to different levels of the value chain. Getting to know that is agnostic of how it was developed, Cool believes productsthe farmersthe customersusing the seed is the only insight could move freely through the marketplace.to improve seeds for the future.As long as the production industry complies with that, prod- Its the farmer himself who sees yield improvements and ucts could flow through the market, and youre burdened insteadthose problems with disease, Groot says. Its a long chain by what innovation you can access, not what innovation youreof events that need to be considered when looking at seed allowed to use, he says.improvement.Innovation is especially important in smaller, orphan crops,When it comes to the current relationship of seed compa-like cassavacrops that are feeding the world.nies and growers globally, the relationship isnt strained, but If we cant have innovation in these crops, which have signifi- Nsimadala believes theres more to do.cant agronomic problems, then its really sad that were limitingWe can do more, she says. Seed companies need to listen ourselves on their use, he says. Even as a large company, wemore to farmers and respond to farmer requests.have a very open desire for as many people as possible to accessAs an example, Nsimadala says theres quite a lot of innova-technology. When everyone accesses technology, that creates ation happening in the seed industry globally, but asks, how much competitive environment that adds value.information reaches the farmers?Somehow, seed companies need to break the silos so that farmers are part of the information chain, she says. We need to have an ecosystem where farmers are able to move whatever is being innovated to the ground, because we are the solution to whatever youre producing.Being part of the process is necessary to bettering the rela-You must look far ahead and advance to see whattionship, Groot says.the policy will be so that you can go to market.You have to be involved in this process of teaching the farmer to become better farmers, he says. There are manyMarc Cool crops in Africa where farmers arent making use of their potential of maximizing the results of the crop.One solution to this is farmer extension work, Groot says. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, farmer extension is a process of working with rural people to improve their livelihoodsin agriculture, this involves help-ing farmers to improve the productivity of their agriculture while But, ISF says the globe is on the forward march to progression. developing their abilities to direct their own future development. Governments are ahead of others in terms of actually devel- We have made some good efforts in setting up these farm oping and implementing policy, Slutsky says. But its really aextension systems to show the farmer how to be a better farmer progressionwere seeing a growing recognition among coun- and to make optimal use of the better seeds, Groot says. tries that certain categories of gene edited products should notIn addition, formalizing partnerships between farmers and be treated the same as a GMO, and we all know the difficultiesseed companies could be beneficial to see what both sectors weve had with regulations GMOs. can do together, Nsimadala says. Some key areas she believes could be improved are training, advocacy and policy. But the Improving Varieties Relies Company-Growerbiggest key? Being transparent about information.Relationships I want to re-emphasize the importance of information, When working with grower customers, seed businesses areNsimadala says. The information flow is not always clear and the constantly looking for their feedback. Is the product working forinformation that is available does not reach the ground. How do them? What are they seeing in the field? And most importantly:we make sure we all have the right kind of information across the what do they think of our business, and how can we keep theirchain?business?To the seed sector, Groots advice is becoming more active.Thats a relationship the World Seed Congress hopes toSeed is not just a low cost, free of charge commoditywe foster.have to show growers that seeds are far more. Its the real source When I look at the relationship between farmers andof their income growth, Groot says. Thats the message we seed companies, theres a mutual relationship, says Elizabethmust bring to the farmers, and that will take time, training and Nsimadala, president of the East African Farmers Organizationextension, because they have to see it with their own eyes.SW24/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2022'