Seed Market for Agroecology project (publication by Brot für die Welt and Swiss Church Aid HEKS/EPER)
This brochure documents an advocacy project (2020–2025) by Brot für die Welt and Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER) that links EU seed marketing legislation to the human right to food and farmers’ rights. It explains why seed laws, seed rights and seed diversity matter for food security and agroecology, summarises current EU seed marketing rules, and analyses the European Commission’s July 2023 proposal and the European Parliament’s April 2024 position. The publication highlights risks the reform may pose for farm-based seed systems and the Global South (including impacts of new genomic techniques), and it presents concrete recommendations: recognise and protect farm-based seed systems, allow proportionate marketing pathways for conservation and heterogeneous material, ensure transparency on breeding methods and IPR, safeguard traditional knowledge, and strengthen participatory governance. It also outlines the project’s PCD (Policy Coherence for Development) approach, advocacy activities, timeline, and lessons learned for using EU policy spaces to advance farmers’ rights and agrobiodiversity.
Key topics: EU seed marketing reform, farmers’ rights, right to food, agrobiodiversity, policy coherence for development, conservation varieties, new genomic techniques
