From September 26 to 28, 2022, it was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, the 8th edition of the Seed Congress of the Americas, organized by the Seed Association of the Americas (SAA), in collaboration with the National Association of Seed Producers (ANAPROSE), the Uruguayan Chamber of Seeds (CUS) and the Uruguayan Association of Plant Breeders (URUPOV).
The 3-day event brought together more than 400 seed professionals, plant breeders, researchers, policy makers, government officials and students, from 22 countries in the region and the world, who were able to enjoy the proposal offered: keynote conferences, exhibition room, trading tables and academic & scientific poster session.
The congress agenda was aligned to the following work areas: Innovation and New Technologies; Environmental, social and economic sustainability; Facilitation of the Seed Movement; and the Importance of Communications. In addition, a round table was held regarding the production, trade and regulation of cannabis and hemp, which was a novelty very well received by the participants. We thank all the speakers for their amazing presentations, which you can see here.
The Congress represented a great opportunity to resume the face-to-face relationship, so necessary when establishing professional and commercial relationships, as well as an ideal framework to establish new businesses through the exhibition room and trading tables.
The Congress also had an innovation room (poster session), which featured outstanding academic, research and scientific works. On this occasion, the winning posters were the following: 1. “Biotec-LATAM shows the contribution and potential of biotechnology in Latin America”; 2. “Biotechnology: Investment to protect Intellectual Property”; and 3. “Identification of varieties: Case of soybeans in Argentina”.
The SAA working groups on Phytosanitary, Biotechnology and PBI, Seed Treatments and Intellectual Property also took advantage of this instance to hold their respective work meetings. Although the meetings were closed, several participants were able to join them as observers and learn in first-hand about the priority issues that the SAA has been working hard on.
Likewise, within the framework of the congress, other meetings of interest to the seed industry were held, such as the bilateral meeting between Chile and Canada and the meeting between organizations specialized in hemp and cannabis.
We thank all the sponsors, our strategic partner Syngenta-Seedcare, Bayer, Corteva and GDM for their support, as well as the companies that participated in the showroom. A great acknowledgment to the professionals who presented their work in the innovation room, to the speakers who presented their topics with great quality, and to all those present for supporting the seed congress of the Americas. Thanks to all of you, the congress is consolidating year after year as the most representative and important of the Americas.
We hope to see you all again in the 9th edition!!
