Source: SEED INFO 38

In March 2009, delegates from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan signed the by-laws of the ECO Seed Association (ECOSA) and appointed transitional board members for registration of the association.

First ECOSA General Assembly

ECOSA held its first General Assembly on 1 December 2009, in Antalya, Turkey. Representatives from public and private seed companies from eight countries – Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan – attended the meeting and elected ECOSA board members. Dr Vehbi Eser from the Turkish Seed Union was elected President, Mr Bolot Kojamuratov from the Seed Association of Kyrgyzstan and Mr Samad Mobasser from Iran were elected Vice Presidents. Mr Muhammad Saleem from the Seed Association of Pakistan is the Secretary and Mr Saidjan Abdiani from the Afghanistan National Seed Organization the Treasurer.

The Board outlined activities to be undertaken in 2010 including strengthening existing seed associations and establishing new ones; expanding the membership by enlisting private and public
seed companies from the region and beyond; seeking financial support from donors to support ECOSA activities; and organizing a Second ECOSA Seed Congress planned for 28-31 October 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey.

ECOSA International Seed Trade Conference

The First ECOSA International Seed Trade Conference (ECOSA2009) was held from 2-4 December 2009 in Antalya, Turkey. The conference was organized by the Turkish Seed Union (Turk-TOB) in collaboration with the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), FAO and ICARDA, under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA).

Dr Ramazan Kadak, Under-Secretary of MARA, opened the conference and the seed trade exhibition. The conference served as a forum to promote regional seed trade among seed companies within and outside the region and for seed industry stakeholders to share experiences. The conference focused on seed trade and exhibitions, but the program also included technical presentations on various subjects: status of the global and regional seed industry; international instruments and regional collaboration for facilitating seed trade; status and role of the private sector in the ECO region; and successful seed delivery models.

ECOSA2009 attracted over 190 participants from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland,
Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, USA and Uzbekistan. Apart from public and private seed companies, there were equipment suppliers, national (ANSOR, KSA, SAK, SAT, Turk-TOB),
regional (APSA) and international (ISF) seed trade associations, and international organizations working on varieties and seeds (ECO, FAO, ICARDA). There was impressive participation from the public and private seed sector in Turkey.

Website: http://www.icarda.org

Published: February 8, 2010