Regenerative, resilient, and more sustainable food production starts with Seed Resilience!
This is the second part of ISF Secretary General’s reflections on the UN Food Systems Summit 2021. Read the first part here.
by Michael Keller
There’s only a little bit more than 3,000 days left to achieve the SDGs.
The concept of time can be extremely subjective: for a breeder, five to ten years to develop a new cassava variety can be quick; the same period can be far too long to create a regenerative food value chain with its multiple players; and for the achievement of the SDGs, we are running the risk that 3,000 days is FAR too short.
In a world where hunger and poverty are escalating in many places, I would like to quote the remarks of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the SDG event, “it would be easy to lose hope but we are not hopeless.” We have planetary boundaries, as well as time limits, but we have the capacity to act together.
Indeed in 48 hours (I do not even know how to describe this time lap), the #UNFSS takes place.
We know that one year is not enough to completely transform the food systems and with this the food production system. Yes, perhaps we thought we would be able to build more and broader engagement worldwide; perhaps we thought, at least from the private sector perspective, that we could build more concrete actions. But again the #UNFSS is, by no means, ending in 72 hours.
I accept that (my optimistic side) after seeing the lineup of speakers from the UN Secretary-General, Heads of States, Ministers from around the world, youth, indigenous people, farmers, and yes, also the private sector, the transformation starts.
We need to continue our call for stronger cooperation to pave the way to the very important task of overcoming current obstacles and reluctance towards public-private partnerships. We need to call to improve the recognition of a private sector-supported transformation of our food systems, like the call for regenerative agriculture, which takes into account the importance of an enabling environment for science and research.
I hope that, on Thursday, some governments will mention the importance of quality seed in their speeches.
Again and again, I would like to underline that any shift towards a regenerative, resilient, or more sustainable food productions system, starts with this tiny little seed. This tiny little seed contributes to solutions that can be adapted to the type of farmer, their physical environment, economic status, household needs, and market opportunities. There is no one size that fits all!
This is why the seed sector needs to provide diverse choices, and we believe, lead the way towards achieving Seed Resilience.
Tomorrow, ISF will launch a strong initiative on this topic. In my next post, after the summit, I will share further information on our initiatives to build a sustainable seed system.
I hope to hear at least a few times during the UNFSS that seed is an essential driver for food systems transformation.
Seed is life, and all our discussions are about life, our food, our future.
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.
