At the 69th International Seed Federation (ISF) World Seed Congress in Brisbane, Australia, the General Assembly adopted eight position papers that will support the delivery of the Federation’s strategic objectives.
The positions will provide ISF members with a clear stance on the key industry issues, including the movement of seed, plant breeding innovation, illegal seed practices and seed choice for farmers.
In coordination with seed associations worldwide, ISF members will continue to play a key role in driving the issues at a national level by engaging with partners across the value chain.
The General Assembly elected Eduard Fito (Spain) President, and Donald Coles (Australia) Vice President, and voted in new members of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors.
In his acceptance speech, Fito said he would continue to strengthen the two pillars of ISF’s mission – movement of seed and innovation – and take the Federation into the next decade in pursuit of the ISF vision: “A world where quality seed is accessible to all.”
“I plan to listen to and learn from ISF members to be the best leader I can be,” said Fito, thanking the General Assembly for the opportunity to lead ISF. “Just as I learned from my predecessor Jean-Christophe Gouache on the ISF 2020 project which renewed ISF’s vision, mission and strategic objectives.”
In his final speech as ISF President, Gouache (France), said: “I am confident that ISF will continue to be a driving force for the seed sector to deliver the full potential of genetics to farmers through quality seed to meet the challenges of a changing world.”
Fito, Coles and Gouache will continue to oversee the implementation of the Federation’s five-year Strategic Plan with new Executive Committee members Marc Cool (USA), who replaces Usha Zehr as Chair of Breeders Committee, and Christoph Betschart (Switzerland), who replaces Vincent Vuille as Treasurer.
