Asia Seed Congress opens Tuesday

All is set for the holding of the 2007 Asia Seed Congress (ASC) on Nov. 6-10.

With ‘Cultivating  Ties for Quality Seeds and Bountiful Harvest’ as its theme, the five-day congress will be held at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong  City.

About 700 stakeholders from 34 counties in Asia and the Pacific have signed in as participants.

The participants include government policymakers, business executives, scientists/researchers, and members of the academe.

The Department of Agriculture (DA), headed by Secretary Arthur C. Yap, together with the Asia Pacific Seed Association (APSA) and Philippine Seed Industry Association (PSIA), have been working together over the past months to lay the groundwork for the holding of the congress.

Considered the biggest annual international seed industry even in the Asia and Pacific region, the congress gathers together seed industry stakeholders to discuss seed trade policies and other regulations affecting the international seed industry and to learn about the latest technologies available for seed industry developers, producers, and distributors.

This year’s Asia Seed Congress will be supported by DA, International Seed Group, Zhongdu Seeds China, Allied Botanical Corp. (ABC), Bayer Crop Science, Kaneko Seeds, Syngenta, ASTEC Seed Technology, East-West Seed Company, Corn World, Monsanto, PAC, Smart, and Ramego International Corp.

Preparatory meetings have also been held to assess activities already undertaken in preparation for the congress.

One meeting was presided over by Yap and attended by APSA president, Zhang Mongyu, APSA director Sampan Campiranon, and PSIA president Willy Co, ABC president and general manager, a former APSA president and currently chairman of the ASC’s national organizing committee (NOC). — Rudy A. Fernandez