Seed policy and programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean

This publication presents the proceedings of the Regional Technical Meeting on Seed Policy and Programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was held in Merida, Yucatán, México from 20 to 24 March 2000.The Meeting was organized by the Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán (CICY), with the technical and financia! support of the Seed and Plant Genetic Resources Service (AGPS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In Une with the Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources adopted in Leipzig, the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action, the Meeting recognized that a major challenge facing the countries of the Latin America and the Caribbean región is directly related to the sustainable utilization of the great wealth of the region´s plant genetic resources. In particular, the deliberations focused on the appropriate mechanisms required to ensure capacity for the maintenance, production and equitable distribution of good quality seeds of a wide range of plant varieties, thus contributing to national and regional food security. The Meeting proposed and agreed to establish the Seed Consultative Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean (SCF-LAC) to facilítate the management, utilization and distribution of information and materials related to plant genetic resources for sustainable agricultural development. This Forum will facilítate intercountry/interregional scientific and technical collaboration on seed production and supply, and promote crop genetic resources evaluation, conservation asid utilization in the región.