LiveSeeding is an innovation project co-funded by the Horizon Europe programme that aims to promote the growth of the organic sector by providing high quality organic seeds of different cultivars, adapted to organic farming for a wide range of crops. The project published a report with policy recommendations on the latest EU legislative updates.
The revision of EU legislation on Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) (seeds, seedlings, cuttings, tubers, rootstocks, etc.) aims to align the different existing directives into a single regulation. The stated aim of the new legislation is to have high quality PRM with a diversity of choice and sustainability characteristics. The revision of the legislation will have direct implications for organic farming and marketing of PRM, thus affecting the entire organic sector. The report contains several observations and recommendations concerning:
- The marketing of organic heterogeneous material (OHM) and the definition of organic varieties suitable for organic production (OV) ;
- Value Testing for Sustainable Cultivation and Use (VSCU) ;
- The need for full transparency on cultivar types and breeding techniques applied;
- Registration of organic varieties (OV) promoted by less stringent Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) tests.
The report summarises policy changes based on extensive scientific research, field experience and sector expertise.
The full report on Liveseeding’s policy recommendations can be downloaded HERE.
HERE more information on the project.
Source: FederBio
