Director-General visits seed laboratory at Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa –QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), on Tuesday visited the world’s largest, most comprehensive public seed laboratory at Iowa State University in the United States of America.
At a meeting with scientists and professors after the tour, the Director-General offered FAO’s technical support in helping the Seed Science Center collaborate with efforts to offer betters seeds to African farmers and beyond, an idea that was echoed by the experts.
Qu’s visit, which came ahead of his participation in the World Food Prize opening ceremony, involved a robust dialogue with students, some of whom have participated in FAO training courses through a partnership between the Organization and the university.
He also met with Dr Wendy Wintersteen, President of Iowa State University, thanking her for the visit and welcoming their shared vision on the need to leverage science, innovation, and research and to build strong partnerships to transform agrifood systems.
The visit
Iowa State University’s Seed Science Center tests around 45 000 samples of more than 300 seed species annually, screening for seed-borne pathogens, bolstering biosecurity, and facilitating compliance with phytosanitary standards required for the international trade of seeds.
With the slogan “in order to feed the future, we must seed the future,” the Center also engages in capacity building efforts around the world, with programs in 79 countries over the past 20 years.
For food security and rural livelihoods, it is imperative that farmers have access to quality seeds, especially in Africa where seed inadequacies are one of the causes of low-farm yields.
During the meeting, Qu emphasized that he has strongly reinforced FAO’s emphasis on the importance of soil health. He and the university professors agreed that science-based solutions are essential and that they must involve and benefit the farmers who actually need them.
The Director-General urged them to consider how to use FAO as a platform for their work. Dan Robison, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said he looked forward to more cooperation and working together.
Expanding collaboration
The Director-General highlighted how, through initiatives such as the Hand-in-Hand Initiative, a country-led multistakeholder platform, and the World Food Forum, FAO is opening the door to partnerships that can add value.
“Academics must play a key role in not only shaping future leaders, but also helping farmers tackle the challenges they face today,” Qu said, highlighting how science, technology and innovation are key to achieving the Four Betters – better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind – that he advocates as central to the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems.
FAO and Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences already partner in a number of ways, including in the university’s global agriculture and food leadership program, which is based in Rome in order to engage students with FAO experts. Some 100 students have participated so far in the program, which is focused on livestock and animal health as well as policy issues that spur students to be innovators in their future careers.
Qu was also briefed on the university’s FACTS (Forecast and Assessment of Cropping Systems) program, which uses predictive modeling to improve crop productivity and environmental sustainability. Qu welcomed the effort, noting he is spearheading greater use by FAO of Artificial Intelligence and other technologies providing a wider range of options and scenarios and enabling faster and better decisions to be taken.