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International Seed Testing Association Centenary Celebration
7 July 2024, Video Message by Dr. QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the International Seed Testing Association Centenary Celebration.
Language
English
Duration
5m35s
Edit Version
Full Mix
Video Type
Video Message
Date
07/07/2024 12:00 AM
File size
604.48 MB
Unique ID
UF16YGK
Production details and shotlist
UNFAO Source
FAO Video
Script
International Seed Testing Association
Centenary Celebration
Video Message
By
Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
1 July 2024
Dear Colleagues,
1. I am pleased to address you today as you celebrate this important milestone – the 100-year anniversary of the establishment of the International Seed Testing Association.
2. Today, we celebrate a century of advancements in seed testing,
3. And the recognition of the profound impact of the seed industry on agrifood systems.
4. FAO and the International Seed Testing Association have a solid partnership that has grown stronger over the years.
5. We are united by our joint commitment to achieving global food security and nutrition,
6. And our joint conviction that in agrifood systems, it all starts with a seed or seedlings.
7. The food we eat depends on high quality and safe seeds.
8. Quality seeds of productive, high-yielding varieties, and their adoption by farmers have immense benefits, including:
• increasing crop productivity,
• reducing the reliance on agrochemicals,
• increasing pest resistance and drought tolerance,
• improved nutritional content, and
• better adaptation to climate change.
9. And as we look at the challenges and opportunities ahead of us, seeds have a critical role in addressing global food insecurity.
10. By 2050, the world's population is projected to reach nearly 10 billion, requiring a 50 percent increase in food production from 2012 levels.
11. And 80 percent of this increase is expected to come from plants.
12. This is a daunting task, especially when we face diminishing natural resources, ecological degradation, environmental pollution, and the ongoing devastating impacts of the climate crisis.
13. We need to produce more with less!
14. And our collaboration is more relevant than ever.
15. Your engagement in the first ever FAO Global Conference on Green Development of Seed Industries in 2021,
16. As well as the First Roundtable Forum on Sustainable Seed Systems Management in 2022 – two important milestones for FAO’s work on seeds – further reflect our fruitful partnership over the years.
17. We also share the commitment to enhance seed quality assurance mechanisms and strengthen confidence in these.
18. For this reason, we recently published “Guidelines for the establishment and management of seed testing laboratories”, which are already being used by FAO Members.
19. These are guidelines that we jointly produced in 1969 – 55 years ago - and have jointly revised and updated since then.
20. This new, 4th edition provides guidance on the range of seed testing equipment, procedures, and management systems that have become available over the past decades.
21. They reflect the important progress made in agriculture through science, innovation and technology.
22. These are just some examples of the initiatives that underscore our shared dedication to quality seeds for ensuring the Four Betters, in particular better production, followed by better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – leaving no one behind,
23. And which will enable us to transform global agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient, and more sustainable.
Dear colleagues,
24. As we reflect on the International Seed Testing Association’s achievements over the past century, I would like to highlight three areas of your substantial contributions to the mandate of FAO:
• First: your work in accrediting laboratories and establishing internationally agreed rules for seed sampling and testing – this is the foundation of our joint work.
• Second: your contribution to the resilience and sustainability of agrifood systems worldwide.
You have done significant groundwork in facilitating the safe trade of seeds by ensuring their quality and safety. At FAO, we continue to emphasize the critical role of safe and smooth trade for ensuring food availability, food accessibility and food affordability.
• And third: I would like to commend you for the invaluable contributions to the advancement of seed testing and the promotion of context-specific seed systems.
25. I firmly believe that our collaboration will continue to benefit all farmers and the agrifood industry in the years to come,
26. For a better world with peace, prosperity and a food-secure future for generations to come.
27. Thank you.
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