• Who we are
• What we do
• Our Vision
• Our Mission
• ISF Structure
• ISF Member Countries

What we do

Seed is the basis of agriculture and the international seed industry plays an increasingly vital role in the global pursuit to ensure the sustained development and well being of our planet and its people in an environmentally responsible manner.

Apart from its traditional role of being one of the major contributors to sustainable food production to feed an ever-growing world population, the global seed industry is now also at the forefront of the latest technological advances that are being made in developing alternative uses for plants as renewable sources of bio-energy, bio-materials, and plants that will provide food and feed of increased nutritional and even medicinal value to humans and animals. These additional demands will have to be carefully balanced against the need to continue to improve the quantity and quality of food and feed production on an ongoing basis.

The industry is highly competitive, ensuring an efficient and responsible global seed trade that offers farmers a continuous supply of new high-yielding varieties suitable for different environmental conditions, and for producing crops and products that will continue to meet changing consumer demands and the related standards and concerns of the global civil society.

To cope effectively with the challenges brought about by increased globalisation such as environmental and health issues, regional trade groupings, new technological advances as well as farmer and consumer sophistication, the world seed industry needs a representative forum to research and discuss important issues, adopt positions, and represent and promote its interests at a global level. 
  

The ISF is involved in the following fields: 

Representation

Represent the seed industry at intergovernmental organisations such as:

• OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)
• UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants)
• ISTA (International Seed Testing Association)
• IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention) 
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN)
• CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity)
• WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) 

and others that have an impact on the international movement of seed. ISF defends the general interests of its members, notably in improving the conditions of international seed trade and strengthening intellectual property rights worldwide.

Annual congresses

Organize annual congresses, bringing together up to 1500 seedsmen to:

• Exchange information on recent developments in seed trade and plant breeding
• Identify mutual concerns, enable strategic thinking and discussion on these issues, and adopt common positions
• Meet customers and suppliers to negotiate business contracts.

Issue Rules

• Trade rules that clarify and standardize the contractual relations between buyers and sellers at the international level.
• Provide procedural rules for dispute settlement in the areas of trade and intellectual property.

Channels of communication

• Internal communication: publication of congress reports, a quarterly newsletter, seed trade statistics, etc. for the members
• External communication: publication of leaflets on the contribution of the seed and plant breeding industries to sustainable agriculture
• Internet: our web site and its documents are regularly updated.