International seed industry event ‘Asian Seed Congress 2008' in City 700 national and international delegates to take part in the congress   Hyderabad|India|November'2008:  The ‘Asian Seed Congress 2008’, one of the biggest international seed industry event in Asia & Pacific region will be held in city from 11 -13 November 2008 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC). The National Seed Association of India will organize the congress in close collaboration with The Asia & Pacific Seed Association (APSA).  An annual event of APSA, it brings together business executives, academicians, scientists and government officials in the global seed industry to deliberate on some of the major issues of the seed industry such as IPR, International trade and quarantine, seed testing, vegetables, hybrid rice, tropical forage etc. Climate Change and Its Impact on the Seeds and agriculture as whole. Emerging and Re-emerging Seed Pests and Diseases in Asia Pacific Region will also be discussed in the Asian Seed Congress 2008.   The Seed Congress was inaugurated formally on 11th morning by Mr. Sharad Pawar, Union Agriculture Minister.  Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Chief Minister of A.P, Agriculture Minister, Govt of A.P among others graced the Occasion. The event is an unrivalled opportunity to promote interaction among senior government officials, decision makers from associations & the corporate sector, professionals and academicians. The event comes to India with a mission to create sustainable agricultural practices for the production and trade of quality seeds.  APSA is the largest regional association of its kind in the world, and has links with FAO, CGIAR institutions ISF, ISTA, and World Trade Organization among others. The Association actively works towards promoting trade & disseminating technical & commercial information for the global seed industry, Mr. Buta Singh, Chairman, NOC (National Organising Committee), informed.  Activities at ASC 2008 will include technical sessions and an exhibition. Congress’ Technical Session Topics and speakers include ‘The Seed Industry of India ‘, to be addressed by Dr. Paresh Verma, ‘ Transgenic Crops & Food Security in India’ by Dr. P. Ananda Kumar, The Impact of Climate Change to the Seed Industry and Agriculture in General by Dr. Lin Erda, The Growing Role of the Government Sector in International Seed Trade by Dr. Mohammed Selamat bin Madom, Coping with the Emerging and  Re-emerging Seed Pests and Diseases in the region by Dr. Nenita T. Lalap-Opina and others.   Systematic interchange of information and networking with other organizations will be facilitated in the trade rooms set up for this purpose and in B2B sessions. Each year, it is held in a country belonging to the Asia Pacific region for at least five (5) days with an option to have pre-congress activities or extend the post-congress tour which usually ends the entire conference.