The International Seed Federation (ISF) represents the interests of the professional seed industry at the global level. As quality seed is the first step in the production of food, feed and fibre its availability is central to agricultural production in many, if not all, nations. ISF’s mission is to facilitate the international movement of seed for sowing within the framework of fair and reasonable regulations. Phytosanitary regulations play an important role in the international movement of seed. The seed industry has a two-fold responsibility in the area of plant health:

1. to deliver sufficiently healthy seed to farmers and seed producers to secure the start of a healthy crop
2. to ensure the safe movement of seed in international trade in order to protect agriculture, human health and the environment

The International Seed Health Initiative (ISHI) is an industry-led platform for developing and disseminating reference methods for seed health testing. ISHI brings private companies, public sector institutions and private laboratories together to jointly develop and validate seed health test methods.