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CONTRIBUTIONS from SEED PROGRAMS and PROJECTS

First Iran/ICARDA National Seed Workshop

The First Iran/ICARDA National Seed Workshop was held on 28-31 October 2002 in Karaj, Iran under the umbrella of the WANA Seed Network. The workshop was organized by the Seed Unit of ICARADA in collaboration with Iran/ICARDA Agricultural Research Project and the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute of the Ministry of Jahad-e-Agriculture.

In Iran, organized agricultural research and crop improvement started in the 1930s with the establishment of Sugar Beet Research Institute (1933) and the Iran Tobacco Center (1937). In 1959, the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute was established to conduct research on major food crops such as cereals, rice, oilseed, cotton, horticultural, and forage crops.

The origin of formal seed sector is associated with the establishment of agricultural research centers and their crop improvement programs. At present, commodity-oriented agricultural research institutions carry out variety development and responsible for variety maintenance and seed multiplication of breeder, pre-basic and basic seed. The Agriculture Support Company, a public sector company, produces certified seed through contract with farmers. The Seed Control and Certification Department of the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute monitors the quality of seed through a network of regional seed testing stations located within provincial agricultural research centers.

The provision of quality seed of a wide range of adaptable crop varieties to farmers for increasing agricultural production and achieving food security is given high priority. However, the performance of the seed sector did not reach the desired level due to constraints in policy, regulatory, institutional and technical issues. The seed industry is dominated by the public sector and the participation of private sector is limited. At present the Iran seed industry is at crossroads. The Government agricultural policy is aimed at establishing sustainable seed supply system through the participation of public, private sector, farmer groups and non-governmental organizations.

The objective of the workshop was to bring together national stakeholders of the Iranian seed industry and a number of international experts to discuss options for the improvement and development of the sector. The main objectives of the workshop were to: (i) review the status of national seed sector with particular reference to policy, regulatory and institutional issues; (ii) discuss the role of public and private sector in seed sector development; (iii) discuss recent trends in regional and global seed sector development; (iv) discuss policy and regulatory issues for development of the seed sector; (v) present key recommendation for possible action by policy makers.

The participants of the seed workshop were drawn from relevant institutions dealing with variety development, seed production and seed quality control as well as policy and decision makers from the Ministry of Jahad-e-Agriculture. Apart from national participants, a number of international organizations (ISTA, ICARDA, OECD, UPOV, CIHEAM), senior seed program managers from selected countries of WANA region (Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Turkey) were participated in the meeting. A total of 41 participants attended the national seed workshop.

At the end of the workshop key recommendation were made to assist policy makers in improving the national seed industry in Iran. The recommendations covered short-term and long-term issues and presented to the Director General of the SPII, one of leading institutions responsible for seed production and supply in Iran and co-sponsors of the workshop. The full recommendation of the workshop can be obtained from Dr Tony van Gastel, Head of Seed Unit at ICARDA. Samad Mobasser, Seed Control and Certification Department, SPII, Karaj; E-mail: Sa_mobasser@yahoo.com

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