Parliament wants to ease seed marketing rules for conservation efforts

7 months ago 27

The European Parliament adopted its position on Wednesday (24 April) on the overhaul of EU marketing legislation on seeds and other types of plant reproductive material (PRM), proposing to free seed exchanges between farmers and for conservation purposes of new bureaucratic requirements.

Lawmakers backed the text, drafted by Italian MEP Herbert Dorfmann from the European People’s Party (EPP), with 431 votes in favour, 104 against, and 82 abstentions.

Compared to the Commission proposal, the MEPs included less strict rules for the access, sale, and transfer of conservation varieties in “small quantities” – 500gr for vegetables or up to 10kg for seed potatoes.

“Saving genetic material from extinction and preserving old and local varieties are important contributions to EU biodiversity; it protects the culture and diversity of a region,” Dorfmann said during a debate on the rules on Tuesday evening (23 April).

“The people and networks involved in these work should not be burdened unnecessarily; they should be supported and protected from excessive bureaucracy,” he added.

However, the Parliament voted in favour of an amendment presented by Dorfmann himself – aimed at securing the votes from his political group – that partially backtracks from the version of the text approved earlier in Parliament’s Agriculture Committee.

The amendment narrows down the scope of the derogation to formally established conservation organisations, excluding other conservation aficionados.

Conservation group ARCHE NOAH regretted the inclusion of this provision, stressing that it “severely restricts” conservation efforts in Europe.

“Many actors in Europe contribute to saving the diversity of varieties, including local seed producers, individual farmers, but also public initiatives such as seed libraries,” said Magdalena Prieler, seed policy officer at ARCHE NOAH.

Nevertheless, the Parliament also voted to exempt farmer exchanges of any type of PRM from the requirements and included the possibility of growers being remunerated, contrary to the initial Commission proposal, which only considered seed swaps in kind.

According to the text approved by the Parliament, it will be up to the Commission to decide at a later stage the maximum amount of PRM that can be traded among farmers without being subjected to the rules.

Industry criticism

The outcome of Wednesday’s vote has been slammed by Euroseeds, the European seed industry lobby, which has strongly opposed the proposed derogations.

The organisation, along with farming group COPA and COGECA and food trade associations Europatat, Coceral and European Beet Growers, and Maiz’Europe, warned that the exemptions would result in a “parallel, uncontrolled market.”

“All farmers must be able to rely on proper quality assurance and control for any material they choose,“ Euroseeds’ statement said. “The many derogations and exemptions weaken this key element and precondition for a fair common market for both breeders and seed users.“

Interinstitutional negotiations on the file are expected to begin in autumn 2024, as EU member states in the Council continue discussing the legislation at the technical level and will not reach a common position during the current Belgian Council Presidency.

[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Zoran Radosavljevic]