A tutorial on the new EU Organic Heterogeneous Material (OHM) regime is available to enable new operators to enter this exciting market for agrobiodiversity
Plant Breeding & Genetic Resources
Policymakers should respect the organic movement’s choice on NGTs
Read more on the organic sector position against NGTs and their appeal to MEPs and Member States to regulate these new GMOs.
Joint Letter to the European Commission on the EU Seed Marketing Legislation
Cultivated diversity advocates write joint letter to the European Commission ahead of the EU Seed Marketing Legislation reform proposal
Genetic engeneering endangers the protection of species
In view of the upcoming EU proposal of updated rules on plants produced with New Genomic Techniques (NGTs, NBTs), Test Biotech released in 2020 report: “Genetic engeneering endangers the protection of species”.
Radicchio: a success story of culinary breeding
The Culinary Breeding Network organizes activities to inspire connection and collaboration throughout the food system, in order to improve plant breeding for organic farming. Among these activities was a trip to Italy, visiting the places where radicchio – the most famous form of plant Chicorium intybus – originates from.
Organic seed and breeding sector: stakeholder survey
The EU project Liveseeding is looking for input from current and prospective organic seed producers and traders in order to identify which obstacles are in the way of the horizontal proliferation (scale-out) and scale-up of organic seed and cultivar testing in the EU.
Bringing diversity to Fields with Heritage Grains
Today’s food production is dependent on a small number of crops. By bringing old varieties back to the fields, the diversity of crops can be increased on farms. A Finnish projects shows that the special raw materials that are old seed varieties can bring economic value as food and associated services.
FiBL: Visiting Friends of Agrobiodiversity Across Europe
“To get to know this diversity better, we take you on a journey through Europe from north to south, visiting the pioneers of organic plant and animal breeding.
With their diverse and unique activities, they are contributing, not only to ecological, but also to societal resilience. “
SPD#8: UPOV Convention – its Impact on Farmers in Europe and Globally
To discuss policy developments that affect crop diversity movements, the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity (ECLLD) has launched a series of virtual Seed Policy Dialogues. The last SPD of the year in December 2021 was dedicated to plant variety protection, and more specifically to the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention
No Patents on Seeds! calls for an International Conference
No Patents on Seeds! has started a petition calling for an international conference. The organisation is demanding that a ministerial conference of the contracting states of the EPO is held within one year, with the aim of taking effective measures to stop patents being granted on conventional plant and animal breeding.
