Main objective of LIVESEEDING project is to foster the growth of the organic sector and transition towards more sustainable local food systems by delivering high quality organic seed of diverse cultivars adjusted to organic farming for a wide range of crops.

To reach the “100 % organic seed target by 2036”, aim of the project, LIVESEEDING strives to:

• Increase and optimize crop diversity to be used in organic farming systems
• Increase transparency of the organic seed market
• Advance pre- and post- registration cultivar testing dedicated to organic farming
• Increase supply of organic seed
• Ensure efficient scaling out and scaling up of organic seed and breeding initiatives
• Promote competitiveness of the organic seed and breeding sector
• Capacity building and participatory knowledge creation from seed to plate
• Promote organic breeding supported by value chain partners and society

Main project ambitions:

• Deliver new scientific insights and selection tools for functional traits relevant to organic production, and OHM and OV candidates, advanced landraces with broader biodiversity potential derived from existing and new organic breeding activities
• Deliver proof-of-concept novel cultivar testing models with simplified designs
• Elucidate the importance of the seed microbiome for seed vigour and its implication for seed treatments
• Provide tailored solutions for farmers, seed savers, seed companies to guarantee seed vigour following a holistic seed health strategy, seed sanitation methods for organic and conventional seed companies reducing synthetic seed treatments in agriculture to increase profitability of organic seed production from farm to industrial scale
• Facilitate a considerable scaling out and scaling up of organic seed production of suitable cultivars by providing training, different business models and plans for economically viable start-up and enterprises in organic breeding, cultivar testing and seed production for different types of organisations
• Provide scientific data on the ecological and societal impact of OHM and OV, deliver narratives and marketing strategies for products derived from OHM and OV to foster partnership between organic breeding initiatives and value chain actors, and consumer awareness on biodiversity and breeding via citizen science, and local, national and EU food policies
• Contribute to a thriving organic seed and breeding sector through seed market transparency, monitoring of progress, close collaboration with national authorities to promote 100% organic seed, and activities at the science-policy-society interface

More detailed information at this LINK

Source: Liveseeding