The European Parliament's Agriculture Committee (AGRI) on Tuesday (19 March) voted to relax rules on the sale of seeds and plant reproductive material for conservation purposes and informal exchanges between farmers.
The draft regulation, first presented by the European Commission last July, aims to standardize existing EU law and currently sets out rules for the production and sale of seeds, cuttings, seedlings and other types of planned reproductive material. It replaces the 10 Directives. (PRM).
Italian parliamentarian Herbert Dorfman, coordinator of AGRI's European People's Party (EPP), spearheaded the proposed changes. The proposed changes retain the core elements of the commission's document, while relaxing the rules for protected varieties (traditional crops adapted to conditions in areas at risk of displacement). By modern varieties.
The amendments approved by the European Parliament for Agriculture exempt the access, sale and transfer of small quantities of stored varieties from the regulation and extend the registration period for such varieties to 30 years.
Seed banks and other organizations involved in preserving plant genes firmly opposed the commission's original proposal, saying the new rules would severely restrict their activities, limit seed transfers, and increase bureaucratic hurdles and costs. did.
In an interview with Euractic, Dorfman said the position advocated by AGRI is “balanced”, eliminating red tape for conservation purposes and ensuring the seed industry is harmonized with legislation across EU member states. He emphasized that it brings sex.
This stance was praised by private seed bank Arche Noah, which said it significantly improved the committee's proposal. The organization hopes that in the future, conservation groups will be able to distribute small quantities of seeds to farmers and hobby gardeners.
Magdalena Prieler, seed law expert at Arche Noah, said: “The Agriculture Committee appears to have set clear and very positive guidelines for future parliamentary work. Diversity is the scope of the new seed law. “It must be excluded and consistently promoted.”
seed exchange
Additionally, agricultural lawmakers voted to allow farmers to informally exchange seeds and other PRM for agricultural production, with certain restrictions.
The European Commission's original proposal defined marketing as any transfer of plant reproductive material, even free of charge, and this provision was established by Arche Noah and the European Coordination Agency (via Campesina, which represents farmers and smallholder farmers). ECVC) has been strongly criticized.
They argued that these restrictions violate farmers' rights as enshrined in the 2018 United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Farmers and People Working in Rural Areas.
“Important amendments have been adopted to improve the definition and regulatory scope of marketing and support a stronger framework for farmers' rights to exchange PRM from their crops,” ECVC said in a statement to Euractiv. Told.
However, Arche Noah stressed that concerns remain regarding patents for plants produced by conventional breeding, as amendments to curb conventional breeding do not reach a majority vote.
Similarly, the ECVC reaffirmed its opposition to patenting gene-edited crops, warning that this could result in farmers losing the right to reuse the seeds they harvest.
Industry condemns AGRI’s position
The seed industry, represented by Euroseeds, expressed serious concerns about AGRI's proposed amendments, concerned about the negative impact on plant breeders, seed producers and farmers.
“The report finalized today appears to be a step back towards a common market for PRM that jeopardizes seed quality, plant health, customer information, and government oversight of all seeds and all suppliers and users. ” Euroseas said in a press release. .
Gerlich von Essen, director general of Euroseas, praised the original commission proposal as “striking a balance” between “seed safety and seed diversity”, but the report found that He regretted that this was lost due to the “broad exemptions'' provided by the government.
The group called on parliament to develop an “alternative plan” before a final vote in April's plenary session, as it believes the current approach is “unacceptable” for Europe's seed sector.
[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Zoran Radosavljevic]
