SEED LECTURE 2016 - TECHNOLOGY TRAINING

THE MULTIFACETED SEED TECHNOLOGY TRAINING: HOW BRIGHT IS THE FUTURE
Mohammed Selamat, M*. And Mohammad, M.L.
Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
*Email : mohd.selamat@ums.edu.my 
This paper discusses the various aspects, uses or abilities of the seed technology training programs for the Malaysian scenario and, to objectively evaluate the future undertakings of seed technology training programs, whether the programs in fulfilling the nation’s mission in building its vission. We need to approach the Seed Technology Training Needs based on a number of complex deciplines in order to fulfill the two important taglines of our Malaysian Agricultural related programs and activities. It has been for more than a decade that we used to uplift the agricultural contributions for the economics of the country by telling the Malaysian citizens and consumers that ‘Agriculture is business’. Along with that tagline we also aspire another closely related tagline, particularly for those engaged in the agricultural seed industry. The tagline of ‘Seed is Business’. Definitely both two taglines are in tendem with Food Security and Seed Security. The discussion will cover only those training related to plant or crop seed categories. Although no efforts are made to discuss the scopes of ‘seed’ as currently defined under the Malaysian scenario where fish and livestock ‘seed’ are grouped under the same seed council definition. Since the aims of either ‘agriculture’ or ‘seed’ are to play the roles as businesses, providing trainings at various levels or categories for seed technologies and agricultural technologies, we must include the elements of trainings, not only supporting the technical aspects of seed production technologies and agricultural production technologies but equivalently important are those elements of trainings on the various aspects of business.

The questions we like to discuss here is, where are we now, after spending four decades organising National Seed Symposia, especially in the seed technology training areas. Do we have enough systematic training for seed technology that can be benefitted or utiliseable by the industry. We have the opinion that it is now very timely that we should strengthen our agricultural technology training syllabus or model and more so the Seed Technology training model/syllabus. We are yet to have a dedicated Institute/centre/Unit in 8ocusing training and education for seed industry sector. The need for a multifaceted seed technology training programs will be elaborated in this paper by referring to some selected models world wide. We will also discuss the currently used approaches to create a business environments which include the agropreneurship, technopreneurship and to relate them to the Multifaceted model for Seed Technology.

Posted by:
M Anem
Senior Agronomist
Hotel Sama-sama,
KLIA, Sepang,
Selangor, Malaysia.
(24 Ogos 2016)