The Irish Seed Savers’ Association is among 139 organisations from 23 European countries calling for urgent improvements to EU seed legislation.
The organisations, which also have the backing of thousands of European citizens, have issued an open letter to the 27 EU agriculture ministers and the new EU Health Commissioner, Oliver Varhelyi, who has responsibility for seed issues.
The groups are hoping that the letter will act as a “wake-up call” to ministers to “save endangered crop species” ahead of next week’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) in Brussels.
Seed
Over 160,000 citizens who have so far signed an accompanying petition, entitled “Raise Your Forks for Diversity”.
The 139 signatory organisations include civil society and farming initiatives, regional seed businesses, as well as nature conservation and development organisations.
These include the Austrian-based ARCHE NOAH, Oxfam, Sow Diverse, Slow Food, and the Belgian seed organisation Vitale Rassen.
The open letter outlines four demands for the new EU seed legislation:
- The conservation and sustainable use of locally adaptable crop diversity is the overriding priority;
- The human right of farmers and gardeners to harvest, use, exchange and sell their own seeds must be implemented fully;
- The marketing of diverse and locally adaptable varieties by regional seed producers must be facilitated.
- Newly approved varieties must not be dependent on pesticides or synthetic fertilisers.
The groups believe that the proposal put forward by the European Commission “endangers European agriculture”.
They added that activities aimed at saving rare varieties—such as the transfer of cuttings from endangered apple trees or sharing of endangered bean varieties— would be regulated as “marketing” for the first time.
“Across Europe, gardeners and farmers work, often on a voluntarily basis, to preserve crop genetic diversity for present and future generations.
“These individuals contribute greatly to our food security. Yet, they are being punished with complex regulations intended for the commercial seed market,” Magdalena Prieler, seed policy expert at ARCHE NOAH, said.
Legislation
The organisations also claim that the draft legislation restricts the right of farmers, to share their own propagating material.
In July 2023, the European Commission presented a draft for new regulation on the production and marketing of seeds and propagating material.
In April 2024, the European Parliament called for improvements to protect agro-biodiversity and farmers’ rights.
European agriculture ministers will continue their discussions on the proposed legislation at next week’s meeting.