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Central Asia Field Tour now open to interested members!
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04/21/2009 11:39pm
Be among the first APSA members to collaborate and partner with Central Asia as it re-awakens its seed industry. Join the Central Asia business tour in September!
1. The tour is scheduled on August 10-14 , 2009 in collaboration with Central Asia Seed Association (CASA)
2. Countries to be visited include Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
3. Itinerary includes field visits to vegetable and field crops production areas, seed testing facilities, markets, private and public seed companies
4. Business meetings with national seed associations and seed government agencies will be conducted to discuss among others seed import regulations, seed trade systems and other support
5. The estimated cost of the tour is about US$750 per person which includes board and lodging and local transportation.
6. Each participant will be responsible for their international travel expenses
We can only accommodate a maximum of 25 participants, on a ?first come-first-serve? basis.
If interested, please contact Ms. Navalux (navalux@apsaseed.org) of APSA before July 25, 2009.
Please find below an excerpt of an article about ?Central Asia?s Seed Industry? for your reference. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Central Asia?s Seed Industry
Excerpt from the article, ?The seed in industry of central Asia-an overview?
by Hakim Islamov, Munira Otambekova and Michael Turner
- In the Soviet times, there was a limited number of designated seed farms linked to the plant breeding institutes which supplied all the seed needs in the major crops such as wheat, cotton, forages and maize which emphasised production but had no marketing expertise.
- Plant breeding was strongly supported by the state, but has declined in recent years, due the lack of government resources.
- Seeds of the staple crops (cereal, cotton and legumes) will continue to be produced in the region, although some hybrid maize is being imported from China and Moldova.
- There is a growing demand for high quality vegetable seeds for vegetable producers for urban consumption (met by the global market and by China)
- There is a great potential to expand vegetable seed production and export, given the warm summers and good water supply.
- Organizations supporting projects for the seed sector: EU, World Bank Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
- The Central Asia Seed Association (CASA) was also established in 2007 to promote regional collaboration in the seed sector.
- Kyrgyzstan led the region in economic reform during the 1990s. It became a member of UPOV in 2000 and still has the only seed laboratory in the region which is accredited by ISTA. Membership of the OECD Seed Schemes for cereals and beets has also been achieved. This is to facilitate a revival of the former export business.
- Uzbekistan joined UPOV in 2004.
- Given their location at the heart of Asia, these countries can look in all directions for their trade and development.
- Revival of the economy in Russia is opening up new opportunities for exports of vegetables.
- Initiatives to restore the seed trade links of the former Soviet Union countries are on the works.
- Turkey made much of the early investment in the Central Asian countries based on its ethnic and linguistic linkages with the region. As a result, Turkish companies have also been active in the agricultural sector.
- A diversified commercial seed industry with production and marketing expertise is still emerging in Central Asia and will continue to expand as the local economies develop and the private sector becomes more dynamic. |
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