The Seed Industry in North-Rhine Westphalia
Eckhard Uhlenberg
Minister of the Environment and Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia,
Welcome address at the opening of the 29th ISTA Congress 2010
16 June 2010
Gürzenich, Cologne
Check Against Delivery!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very happy to welcome you to the 29th Congress of the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) here in Cologne. When 4 years ago ISTA chose Germany as the venue of this congress, I was pleased to declare my willingness to support the event as the host federal state, and I hope that you will experience an interesting, successful congress and will be able to get to know a little bit of North-Rhine Westphalia.
With some 18 million inhabitants North-Rhine Westphalia is the most populous of the 16 federal states. There are urban regions and industrial regions such as the Ruhr area or the big cities Cologne and Düsseldorf along the River Rhine, yet on the other hand we also have very picturesque rural regions and a strong farming sector:
- Here in the Rhineland we have a very efficient fruit and vegetable production as well as the three northernmost wine-growing holdings of Western Germany.
- Further downstream, in the Lower Rhine area, dairy farming is the main activity.
- In the Cologne-Aachen lowlands there are excellent conditions for arable farming.
- The Münsterland has traditionally been a stronghold of meat, egg and poultry production.
- And finally with the Eifel, the Bergisches Land and the Sauerland we have attractive and vibrant upland regions whose agriculture is characterised by cattle farming and of course by forestry activities.
To illustrate this diversity with a few short figures, this means: Three quarters of the total area of North-Rhine Westphalia are utilized agricultural and forestry areas. Following Bavaria and Lower Saxony we are the third most important agricultural location in Germany. Together with the food industry, our approximately 48,000 agricultural holdings and roughly 13,000 horticultural enterprises form a strong and dynamic network.
By national comparison, the food industry heads the list with a turnover of some EUR 25 billion. Together with the upstream and downstream areas, agriculture is one of the most important and in particular sedentary industries in North-Rhine Westphalia with a total of some 400,000 jobs.
In the coming days you will discuss many seed testing issues. The entire seed industry will follow the results with great interest.
In North-Rhine Westphalia the seed industry has a long-standing tradition and is of major importance.
- 5 breeding enterprises of national and international importance are headquartered in North-Rhine Westphalia, mostly SMEs, but also international corporations.
- 15 major propagation organisation enterprises are working in North-Rhine Westphalia, completed by
- 60 processing establishments and
- 730 propagation holdings.
- North Rhine-Westphalia has a considerable level of seed multiplication. Every year, seed is multiplied on an area of approx. 15,000 hectares, mainly cereals such as winter wheat and winter barley, but also grass, oilseeds (rape) and legumes.
- Some 450 enterprises in North Rhine-Westphalia are directly involved in the seed trade.
Securing seed quality is one of the key elements of the seed industry. Seed quality is important for the consumer, i.e. the farmers who sow the seeds, and it is one of the prerequisites for secure yields and hence food security, and it needs to comply with the requirements of the international seed trade.
Since the quality of the seed generally only becomes evident after sowing, the purpose of official testing in the framework of seed approval and seed certification is quality assurance. In Germany, the seed approval offices of the federal states are responsible for this seed certification. They control propagation areas already during the growth of the seeds and the general characteristics of the readily processed seeds.
In North-Rhine Westphalia there is a central seed approval office, the approval on the ground at the propagation holdings is organised at regional level by 9 district offices. As a matter of course, the seed laboratory in Münster, which is responsible for North-Rhine Westphalia, is certified by ISTA.
In addition, in North-Rhine Westphalia as well as in other federal states the seed marketing control offices check whether the marketed seeds comply with quality requirements. This guarantees a high level of consumer protection.
For their work, seed approval offices and seed marketing control offices need, however, reliable and comparable methods and standards on the basis of which the seeds are analysed and assessed. For test laboratories, comparable requirements and certification criteria have to be developed and secured. Quality standards which are binding at international level and which provide orientation for the seed trade need to be set.
For this task there is a need for international organisation and coordination. Hence ISTA, which assumes this task, is of such great importance for the entire seed industry.
Seed testing also has to keep up with the constant new demands in the wake of technological progress. I am thinking, for instance, of the use of biotechnology in breeding and seed production or of the secure identification of varieties by molecular genetic methods. New, even more sensitive methods of detection and analysis need to be developed and assessed, quality standards need to be further developed and adjusted to the current requirements in the seed industry, and they need to be coordinated at international level. Hence the ISTA Congress is highly important for the entire global industry.
In addition to the technical aspects Germany, North-Rhine Westphalia and Cologne will act as hosts. I think that we have made a good choice with this beautiful and traditional venue at the heart of the biggest city of North-Rhine Westphalia. When you look at the comprehensive programme it becomes clear that in addition to the Seed Congress also excursions to breeders, agricultural holdings or seed laboratories will be carried out. A framework programme will round off the meeting. I am certain that we will be successful in holding an interesting congress with an excellent technical level for all participants.
