2013 CIOPORA Chronicle

From the President
Breeding industry
‘manifesto’ reflects
strong visions and
daily praxis
It is a great pleasure for me to welcome the readers of the CIOPORA Chronicle again. This
is the fourth edition of the “collection magazine” edited by FloraCulture International
B.V. in cooperation with CIOPORA, the International Association of Breeders of Asexually
Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit Plants. The cooperation between our association and the
editors of FloraCulture International has developed through the years, and today we can say that it
has reached a satisfactory maturity. The magazine is very much appreciated by the flower and fruit
industry for its high level of contents and its very professional and pleasant editorial layout.
CIOPORA is the reference for the Intellectual Property matters in the flower and fruit industry
worldwide, while FloraCulture International has positioned itself as the leading magazine of
floriculture worldwide, reaching more than 20,000 professional readers on five continents. This
makes the CIOPORA Chronicle a “must-read” for breeders, growers and traders, and every year
the topics discussed in the magazine are object of debates and sometimes, polemics between
experts.
The goal of the CIOPORA Chronicle is to update professional readers worldwide on the hot topics
of the Intellectual Property protection in vegetal varieties, as well as with comments and analyses
including our own view, but also giving voice to others such as growers associations, scientists and
lawyers, who are invited to contribute to our comprehensive vision of the business.
But let me say that this edition of the CIOPORA Chronicle is different from the previous ones.
The novel character of the issue 2013 begins with the cover of the magazine.
As some of the attentive readers among you might have noticed already, with our choice of cover
picture we have referenced the theme of the book “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-
Exupéry. In our eyes the cover picture vividly demonstrates what CIOPORA is all about: the
effective protection of ideas and innovation, and, above all, the social responsibility that comes
with the act of creation and which must be borne in order to stimulate the future development
of the industry. The widely popular book by de Saint-Exupéry reads: “You become responsible
forever for what you’ve tamed.” It is the same in the plant world – by creating new plant varieties,
we are forever responsible for the protection of the results of this human activity. A further quote
from the book which we picked as the headline for the Chronicle’s cover is “What is essential is
invisible to the eyes”. In our view this phrase precisely reflects the nature of true innovation. As the
main strength of great ideas and innovative products often resides in their simplicity, the time and
the tremendous effort invested in their development can be so easily overseen by the end customer.
Furthermore, the content of this year’s issue is indeed innovative. In the previous three editions
we have offered our readers a high level of information and analysis on IP in flowers and fruit.
However, I believe that we have really touched THE real core topic of our industry this time, the
subject that is of the highest pertinence and the deepest importance for the future of the flower
and fruit business.
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CIOPORA Chronicle April 2013 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com 7