Let’s get the ball rolling…
After joining the UN Food Systems Pre-Summit in Rome on 26–28 July, ISF Secretary General Michael Keller shares his thoughts on the UN initiative. The Summit is set to be held virtually on 23 September.
by Michael Keller
When I came into the office last week, I received endless requests for feedback on my impressions of the UN Food Systems Pre-summit #UNFSS, which I attended in person in Rome on 26–28 July 2021. Yesterday, I thought then it would be worthwhile to start to write a blog entry to further open the discussion and build more inclusiveness within the seed sector. Now, this is becoming even more urgent, as many of you have received an invitation to the fully virtual “people’s summit” on September 23rd that the #UNFSS2021 promises to be.
And yes, the pre-summit in Rome was an exciting and inspiring event for the seed sector composed of thousands of family-owned businesses, small, medium, and multinational businesses.
It was encouraging to hear in the opening ceremony that plant breeding and innovation are key drivers in the effort to build resilient food systems, and a huge number of times seed was mentioned as an essential contributor to agricultural production. It was also inspiring to see the high level of virtual participation! This shows that food systems transformation is truly a topic many people care about.
Open dialogue
I feel that a blog is a place, where one can be honest and frank, so one thing I would also like to point out is that there were several ideas and proposals during the pre-summit, which diverge from our way of working.
However, I would like to emphasize that this did not and should not prevent us from participating in the #UNFSS. On the contrary, it means we should keep going. The most important thing is to keep the dialogue open to multiple perspectives, to build mutual understanding and ways forward, and make efforts to arrive at compromises where we can.
Looking ahead, let me make a point here: the private seed sector in its DIVERSITY is convinced that improving seeds will be more and more important in times of worsening climate change, an increasing number of hungry people, and where the protection of biodiversity is more crucial than ever.
It is not innovation for innovation’s sake; it is not one-size-fits-all. Our members are day in, day out connected with the reality in the fields and trying in their own ways to respond to a diverse set of challenges.
The increasing understanding of seed as the starting point of agriculture is also increasing the responsibility of those involved in the seed supply chains, and again, the private sector is only one part.
Our call today is that we are now working TOGETHER to build a resilient seed supply chain that would provide farmers, producers, and growers around the world a real seed choice to best address their challenges!
Together towards ‘Seed Resilience’
Undoubtedly, the seed sector, in its diversity, made a strong commitment through the creation of the Seed Sector Declaration, and yes, I felt a vibration of hope in Rome that we are ALL looking in the same direction. The Pre-Summit was an opportunity to show that there are fewer boundaries in our ability to move forward.
As part of the private sector, our perspective is perhaps different from those of civil society or NGOs, but isn’t the UNFSS an exciting opportunity to overcome divergencies towards the transformation of the world’s food systems? From traditional knowledge to the latest innovations, the diversity of our contributions is a source of strength.
Now, it is time for more.
How do we want to achieve the #SDGs in 2030 if we are not ambitious? For the private seed sector, our ambition is to build “seed resilience,” which we define as “the adaptability and capacity to contribute to food and nutrition security by making accessible sufficient, diverse, locally adapted, improved high-quality varieties to all farmers taking into account environment, health and socio-economic aspects.”
Today, with this blog, we would like to further open the dialogue and build up our ambitions and take initiative!
Debate with us, join us, but PLEASE ACT for the sake of the future generations.
In my next blog, I will provide some insights on what’s coming up. STAY TUNED!
Michael Keller was appointed Secretary General of the International Seed Federation in June 2014. Michael, a German national, lived and worked in Paris for 18 years before relocating to Switzerland to join the International Seed Federation in Nyon. Having graduated from the University of Manheim where he completed a Master’s degree in European Law, Michael pursued post-graduate studies in Political Science. In 1999 Michael joined the French Senate in Paris as a Parliamentary Advisor and moved to the Mayor’s Association of France where, as Head of European and International Affairs, he represented his constituents’ interests at the European level. Between 2008 and 2014 Michael held the post of Director of Regulatory and Public Affairs at DuPont Pioneer in France. During the same period, Michael was a member of the Board of Directors at the Union Française des Semenciers (UFS) and Chairman of the UFS Regulation and Innovation Commission.
