At the annual APSA Seed Congress, this year in Incheon, South Korea, Ido Verhagen presented the plans to develop a Regional Access to Seeds Index for Asia. Consultations to inform the methodology development will start in the beginning of 2017, Mr. Verhagen said.
The first Access to Seeds Index, published in February 2016, included a Regional Index for Eastern Africa. This revealed the key role seed companies originating in the regional play in increasing access to quality seeds for smallholder farmers. Inspired by this example, the Access to Seeds Foundation aims to include a Regional Index for Asia in the 2018 edition.
