A fresh and engaging start of the new year
Michael Keller, ISF Secretary General
Welcome to 2022 — what an important year lies ahead of us in the seed sector!
Covid is still here and many of us within our families, group of friends or colleagues are facing cases of the new variant. We should remain careful and vigilant while doing our best to accept and manage this new normal. In Europe, discussions have already begun to treat Covid as an endemic disease, much like the flu.
As the world prepares for the new year, we at the international seed sector feel strongly that more than ever we need to continue to strive for a world where quality seed is accessible to all. There are only 8 years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals #SDG set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly.
The International Seed Federation (ISF) is undergoing exciting changes as we are approaching the implementation of our brand new structure to strengthen our capacity to be the voice of the essential and critical seed sector in international debates.
Discussions around the world on the follow up to the Food Systems Summit, the preparation of Cop 27 in Egypt with a focus on the role of the private sector, the discussions at the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources, the critical discussions at the CBD on Digital Sequence Information, the review of several important Explanatory Notes at UPOV level, the continued implementation of the International Standard on Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) on seed, the implementation of legislations related to latest Plant Breeding Methods — and I could continue — will set the scene for our capacity to innovate and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.
Our Strategic Objectives are already set for 2021 -2025:
Our structure was revised and I am extremely excited to see so many new people and companies joining the workflow and participating in the various ISF bodies. Also, I am very happy to announce that the ISF Secretariat is continuously evolving.
It is with great pleasure that ISF announces the newest member of its Secretariat.
Ben Rivoire, Crop Value Chain Manager
Benjamin (Ben) Rivoire is currently the Head of Seed Sector Cooperation and Regional Development (Africa + Arab Countries) at UPOV and will join ISF to take on the newly created role of Crop Value Chain Manager from 14 March 2022.
Ben has many years of seed policy and industry experience. Before spending 10 years at UPOV, Ben worked eight years at Syngenta Seeds and left in the position of Global Seed Production Manager Cucurbits. In addition, he has experience in fresh vegetable and fruit production in several countries.
He brings with him a broad understanding of the seed sector and the international policy environment. Through his diverse background, he will be well positioned to drive ISF’s engagement and strategic objectives related to two newly created Coordination Groups, namely the CG Value Chain and the CG Environmental, Ethical and Social Responsibility. Besides the two concerned CGs he will also be in charge of the Advisory Groups on Forage and Turf and Field Crops.
Ben holds an MBA on International Organizations (Geneva University), a Horticultural Engineer degree / Bachelor of Science in Agronomy (Haute Ecole Spécialisée, Lullier, Geneva), and a Bachelor in Business Unit Management (Paris Dauphine). He speaks English, French and Spanish.
We hope to see you in Barcelona!
ISF is continuing to prepare the ISF World Seed Congress 2022 in Barcelona. It’s so motivating to see that we have registrations from around the world! It is incredibly energizing to think about meeting you all in person again in a few months. The scene is set, with more and more sponsors on board and we are opening up the participation even wider. This meeting also serves to further engage with the whole value chain from around the world. I just finished a call with our colleagues from Spain, and we will continue to develop additional and attractive activities.
Join us! More info: https://congress.worldseed.org/
