At the AMSAC 2025 Convention, the panel “The Role of Seeds for Food Production in Mexico” brought together representatives from four seed companies and Dr. Miguel García Winder, Director General of the National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural, and Livestock Research (INIFAP). Speaking on behalf of Secretary of Agriculture Julio Berdegué Sacristán, Dr. García Winder joined the discussion on potential pathways for public-private collaboration to strengthen Mexico’s agricultural sector.
García Winder noted that the relationship between the government and the private sector has existed for a long time, as “many of the seed companies have used the technology developed by INIFAP,” but warned that the current situation represents a turning point for several reasons.
He said that, on the one hand, INIFAP is in the process of strongly aligning itself with innovation, while the private sector “faces a series of unexpected challenges both nationally and internationally, so all that remains is to join forces” and focus on complementarity. “INIFAP’s role is not to make money,” he said, “but to advance knowledge and generate technology, and it is in the hands of companies to be able to use that technology.”
The official gave the example of bean varieties, of which INIFAP has registered more than 100 in its seed catalog, but only four are currently used. “The challenge here is: private sector, help us test the other 96 and see if they have a market. Some are disease-resistant, others are drought-resistant and offer opportunities that need to be developed.”
Representing the companies were César Ramírez Marchand, President of the Mesoandina Commercial Unit of Corteva Agriscience; Laura Tamayo Laris, Vice President of Government Affairs at Bayer; José Manuel Villaverde, Shareholder at ASPROS; and Mauricio Pineda Álvarez, General Manager of Grupo Sakata Seed de México. This discussion was moderated by Juan Labastida Blake, President of the Board of the Mexican Seed Association, A.C. (AMSAC), and Mario Puente Raya, Executive Director of the same association.
Corteva’s Ramírez Marchand emphasized that collaboration must translate into concrete actions. He highlighted how public-private seed partnerships can have a direct impact on Mexican agriculture and culture — for example, by delivering pest-resistant varieties such as those tolerant to corn leafhopper, or by supporting the presidency’s food self-sufficiency plan, particularly for white corn.
Bayer’s Laura Tamayo noted that building innovation and development partnerships with government agencies “requires a much greater effort from the industry.” She said that Plan Mexico offers an opportunity to create comprehensive agricultural solutions, as it “reflects the government’s willingness to work hand-in-hand with industry—and, in this case, the seed industry—for the agricultural development of our country.”
In his presentation, Manuel Villaverde of ASPROS stressed that seed companies understand their success is directly linked to farmers’ success. However, new commercial pressures — and urgent challenges such as efficient water use — make collaboration more critical than ever. He noted that expanding acreage is no longer the answer to boosting production in Mexico, as land availability is shrinking due to erosion, drought, and other factors. Instead, part of the solution lies in improved seeds.
Mauricio Pineda of Grupo Sakata highlighted Mexico’s favorable climate, geography, and skilled labor for producing vegetable seeds, both for domestic use and export. Still, he said, companies need greater certainty around intellectual property rights, as current laws fall short of international standards.
All participants agreed on the need to keep the dialogue going and to develop collaborative plans to produce seeds for key crops — supporting food sovereignty while sustaining and increasing Mexico’s agricultural productivity.
