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The Turkish Seed Industry – The Turkish Seed Industry – from a Global Perspectivefrom a Global Perspective

byMichael Turner

TSUAB Meeting02 December, 2013

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Outline A brief historical overview of Seed Industry

Development worldwide Why Turkey is an interesting case study Lessons learned from the Turkish experience? Current status and key challenges in the seed

industry

Global context Renewed political interest in agriculture since 2008,

driven by concerns about national food security

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Objectives of a National Seed Industrywe can all agree…..

To provide a channel for transferring new varieties rapidly from breeders to farmers(= an effective technology bridge or chain)

To ensure a regular supply of high quality seed of released varieties at reasonable price(= a sustainable market)

The constraints to achieving these objectives are not primarily technical; they are mostly about economics, organization, management and politics

The challenge - to manage this mix of factors in the most efficient way

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Evolution of National Seed Industries -there are two contrasting stories

1. ‘Europe’ – slow development over 100+ years, mostly local private companies; by 1970s a few national companies emerged

Govt played role in quality control from an early stage, and often in plant breeding also but not in production

First ‘multi-national acquisition’ was by Shell in UK in 1974 (Nickerson Seeds); many more followed in the next decade >> rapid consolidation of the private sector

Shift from public to private sector breeding as a result of plant variety protection

Comment – a slow ‘bottom-up’ evolution

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Evolution of National Seed Industriesthere are two contrasting stories

2. Asia and Africa - rapid development since 1970s, based on public varieties of a few major crops

Government was involved in all stages of the seed chain, leaving little room for private sector participation

Seeds were often seen as a tool to develop agriculture but government seed enterprises were inefficient due to poor market linkages

Comment – this was a ‘top-down model’ driven by political and social objectives, and often with external funding (seed projects)

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Since the late 1980s - a new climate of economic liberalisation & privatisation

Many governments tried to put their seed industries on a more commercial basis

Turkey was one of the first to take this road, in a very public way; India was another example, with a new Seed Policy launched in 1989; both have seen rapid changes

The success of these efforts depends on several different factors

In many countries, seed industry evolution is still moving slowly

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Some key success factors

Turkey has benefitted from…… Strong political will and a clear statement of

intent by government Stable policies – no sudden changes Commercially-oriented agriculture creating

a strong ‘demand pull’ for high quality seed - seeds are the start of the value chain

A rapidly developing domestic market, for example from urban supermarkets, and proximity to Europe

A diverse crop portfolio, including hybrids India - an interesting comparison, major

impact of hybrid cotton

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Main divisions within the seed industry – Small cereal grains: wheat, barley, rice

Hybrid cereals/oilseeds: maize, sorghum, sunflower

Grain legumes: lentil, chickpea, soybean, other dry beans (groundnut, mung bean)

Industrial crops: sugar beet, cotton Pasture and fodder crops Vegetables and ornamentalsEach crop has its own technical and commercial

characteristics, leading to different market opportunities and constraints

Government may need to intervene to support the less commercial crops and the less productive

areas (Turkish experience)

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Hybrid rice seed Hybrid rice seed productionproduction

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Public<>private sector relations Establishing the right balance between public

and private sector roles/responsibilities is a key element in seed industry development

Hence the need for a regular dialogue between government and the private sector

The private sector must speak with a clear ‘collective voice’ to develop the market for quality seed

To achieve this, the private sector must have a strong representative body - typically through a National Seed Association, like TSÜAB

This association can also provide an ‘international window’ for domestic seed companies

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Some basic assumptions

Governments are not efficient producers, private sector should do as much as possible

BUT the private sector will not engage in breeding unless they can protect their products, by PVP or hybrid technologies, so...

There is still a social context to plant breeding and seed supply for certain crops, notably wheat, barley, rice and legumes

Public breeders need private partners and good variety licensing arrangements

Private companies need government support in the international regulatory environment

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Current status Food security is now high on the political

agenda in many countries Improved varieties and seeds are the best

way to increase the productivity of existing land through genetic gains

All governments want to improve seed supply but how to allocate their resources to achieve the maximum impact and benefit to farmers? (Be careful with subsidies!)

A clear national policy and regulatory framework can help this process

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Current issues We see an increasing complexity in the international trade,

especially regarding phytosanitary controls. These are inter-governmental issues but seed companies are the ‘clients’ of this system

Concerns to protect domestic breeders and suppliers against multinational takeovers; preserving ‘commercial diversity’ in the domestic seed industry

BUT farmers should have access to the best varieties that are available – avoid ‘variety nationalism’

Increasing cost of research may limit the involvement of smaller companies

Market liberalization should be backed by effective regulation; increase in ‘fake seed’ in some countries

Slow progress in regional ‘harmonization’ initiatives to facilitate the movement of seeds and varieties – (ECOSA and Central Asia region)

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Conclusions It is the role of governments to create a

favourable and stable climate for private investment

The private sector will do whatever tasks are profitable, but it cannot accept ‘social obligations’ which lose money

Some activities will therefore remain a function of government, especially in the less profitable crops or remote areas

Hence the need for close collaboration between all stakeholders to divide these responsibilities in the most efficient way

Turkey provides useful experience of seed industry development but each country has

different crop and market characteristics

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Thank you for your attention- and for your

invitation!