ASTA Goes Global: Building Partnerships from Asia to Europe

In early June, ASTA staff members found themselves on opposite sides of the globe:

APSA meetings: Dr. Fan-Li Chou, ASTA’s Senior VP for Scientific Affairs and Policy represented ASTA on the Executive Committee (EC) of the Asia and Pacific Seed Association (APSA) in Bangkok, Thailand. APSA includes seed industry members from across the Asia-Pacific region and collaborates closely with ASTA to facilitate the global movement of seed. Participation in the EC meetings strengthens the ASTA-APSA relationship and enhances our alignment on key priority issues such as plant breeding innovation, intellectual property rights, and phytosanitary topics. While in Bangkok, Fan-Li also met with USDA staff at the U.S. Embassy in Thailand to share updates on ASTA’s outreach programs and policy interests in Thailand, and to better understand potential market development opportunities in the region.

Grain trade meetings: Dr. Sam Crowell, ASTA’s VP for Science, Trade, and Global Affairs represented ASTA during meetings at London Grains Week, which included a series of events centered around the international trade of major grain commodities. ASTA continues to build its relationships and collaboration with the grain industry to minimize disruptions to the commercialization of new seed technologies, including plant breeding innovations like genome editing. During the meetings, Sam met with USDA staff at the U.S. Embassy to share program and policy updates, as well as with representatives from the International Seed Federation (ISF), International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC), and Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA).