Seed is also the key to optimum use of natural resources and, according to its provenance and the breeding goal, seed determines the requirements for inputs such as pesticides, fertilizer and agricultural technology. It is also of considerable significance that when agricultural production increases through use of improved varieties in a given area, farmers and their communities derive added socio-economic benefit. Such activities can increase the value of locally produced crops, generate local employment, stimulate local cash flow, and through processing, marketing, and related activities can bring about improvement in socio-economic status and the quality of life. The seed industry is crucial to agricultural development in Asia and the Pacific. In any discussion of agricultural development strategies, the subject of seed has a unique capacity to draw attention and interest.
Seed is the primordial input, the embodiment of past harvests and the promise of future ones.
It is not surprising that seed is a prominent feature of many proposals for programmes and projects concerned with improving the productivity of limited-resource farmers. In addition, efforts to strengthen the private sector in developing country agriculture often target the seed industry. These various seed initiatives have had relatively little impact on the majority of resource-poor farmers, however. In recognition of the potential threat to crop genetic resources arising from modern crop improvement, countries will need to be assisted to enhance their germplasm conservation practices to safeguard adapted local and improved varieties. Essential factors necessary to establish an enabling environment for the development of the seed industry in Asia and the Pacific, especially the growth of the private seed sector, are relevant and effective seed legislation including provisions for intellectual property rights and seed quality control.