Arthur Santosh Attavar elected ISF President

At the International Seed Federation (ISF) General Assembly held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on May 29, 2024, ISF Vice-President Arthur Santosh Attavar was formally elected ISF President. He will serve a two-year term.

Attavar is the Chairman and Managing Director of Indo-American Hybrid Seeds (India) Pvt. Ltd. based in Bangalore, India, which he joined in 1997.

Arthur Santosh Attavar

A Plant Scientist with a Business Acumen

After a degree in Plant Sciences (Horticulture) from Utah State University, Attavar first worked at the University’s Extension and Garden Centre, where he gained commercial exposure to flower seeds and vegetable seedling production.

He then worked in progressively responsible positions for different seed companies in the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica, focusing on seed production and quality control of high-value vegetable seeds and flower seeds.

He has vast experience working with smallholder farmers and commercial growers in seed production. He is a team player who strongly believes in building and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders and institutions.

Before his election as ISF President, Attavar served a two-year term as ISF Vice-President (2022–2024) and chaired ISF’s Task Force for the United Nations Food Systems Summit in 2021.

He is a member of The Asia and Pacific Seed Alliance Working Group on Integrated Vegetable Seed Companies, the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA), and other national seed associations. He is also a member of the Varietal Release Committee at the Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA) in India.

Recently, he was nominated as a member of the Research Council at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore, India. He is associated with various community services in the farming community, including a charitable hospital run by the family trust.

As a parting gift, former ISF President Marco van Leeuwen presented Attavar with a pair of traditional Dutch wooden clogs.

Sustainability and Inclusivity of the Seed Sector on the Agenda

In his speech, Attavar stated that his priorities include empowering women in the seed sector through ISF’s Women Mentorship Program and helping smallholder farmers access quality seeds through ISF’s Seed Resilience initiatives.

"In these changing times where we face the climate crisis, geopolitical uncertainty and related difficulties in seed production and seed movement, we must continue to be innovative in our collective thinking and efforts, in surmounting the challenges we currently face.

As the ISF, it is our duty to engage with all stakeholders, including but not limited to the United Nations and the World Seed Partnership, just to name a few. Collaboration is key because we cannot achieve our shared objectives alone or working in silos. Moving forward, our core focus areas will remain: reducing carbon emissions, ensuring social and economic sustainability, prioritizing food and nutrition security, supporting smallholder farmers worldwide, and empowering women.

"As you all have witnessed over the last three days, the innovative techniques and technologies that have been displayed by our participants, one can only imagine the contribution that the present and future technologies can provide in overcoming the obstacles we face in our industry,″ Attavar shared.