With the COVID-19 crisis, securing the supply of seeds and seed-produced products has become a priority. However, it is a fact that there will be changes in the seed imports of countries after this crisis.
As world debt grows, countries will seek to become self-sufficient to stimulate their economies and feed their populations. Will these studies spur a new green revolution in agricultural research? Unfortunately, this seems very unlikely. Many governments will move to reduce spending in this regard, which will be research spending in the agriculture sector, which has a lower priority, alongside spending on safety and health.
So what future do we see in the seed world?
Most governments will leave the solution to free markets. In general, we know there will be a greater demand for the seed. Global seed companies could not meet the demand for seeds in the first shocks of the COVID-19 era.
During this epidemic period, many people, including the western world, were unemployed and it is estimated that it will take a long time for us to return to pre-COVID-19. These people will be looking for a way to generate income and seed may be an option for them. Learning the seeds and their dynamics is not an easy task. However, it is expected that a large number of sellers will enter the sector in the near future, offering products with different prices and less visually noticeable products.
We can exemplify this as follows. Let's take a new type of tomato that is very popular in the market. The high demand for this tomato seed increases the number of sellers who want to sell the seed to the producer. Some of these sellers are experienced, reputable and expert sellers and supply the product to the market at the required price level.
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The other group is the sellers who have entered the industry from outside, have little or no experience, and only take advantage of opportunities to earn money. They supply seeds with the same appearance but different varieties to the market at cheaper prices.
The grower can tell the difference between two tomatoes only when the plant turns fruit. This stage is a very late stage for the producer and means that all his labor and costs are wasted.
So how can we control the seed market so that this problem does not arise? Through national seed associations, seed vendors and the seeds they sell can be certified. Thus, the consumer can be sure of the authenticity of the product he buys.
In addition, a marketing campaign should be conducted to inform consumers of the risks they take from non-certified seed sellers or purchasing non-certified seeds.
The next step the seed industry can take is to use molecular technologies to determine that the seller's alleged variety is genuine. In the next few years, it is vital that inexpensive, readily available and reliable genetic testing is available to the seed industry for both self- and cross-pollinating species in all relevant crops.
In the era of COVID-19, a new era has been entered in the seed industry, with the increasing interest of consumers in food and seeds. By learning from our past mistakes; Let's create a sustainable world and environment for both the producer and the consumer.