Securing Crop Genetic Diversity: Reconciling EU Seed Legislation and Biodiversity Treaties

Abstract

In May 2015, the European Commission withdrew its proposal for a new Regulation on Plant Reproductive Material. For decades, the European Union (EU) has struggled to strike a balance between seed legislation and the rights of farmers to save and exchange seed. The shelving of the draft Regulation was a major setback, given the need for legislative action in the aftermath of the Kokopelli judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU. This article discusses EU seed legislation in light of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. It analyses possible options and dilemmas for Norway in reconciling commitments to promote effective and high‐quality food production in a well‐functioning market, and securing long‐term crop genetic diversity. Norway's association with the internal market through the European Economic Area Agreement, as well as the fact that the Norwegian seed market is small and of scant interest to major seed companies, indicate that Norway enjoys flexibility in policy design. The article finds that EU seed legislation does not allow effective regimes for exchange and use of conservation varieties, possibly at odds with the two treaties and the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.

The Potato Crop

“…The efforts have had some success, with increases in yield and near-elimination of diseases such as spindle tuber and bacterial ring rot (Frost et al 2013). Policy harmonization has also engendered debate in low-income countries (De Jonge and Munyi 2017) and in Europe (Prip and Fauchald 2016). In the United States, seed potato producing states still have relatively little similarity in their certification regulations across the different states.…”

Can the Market Deliver 100% Organic Seed and Varieties in Europe?

“…The organic seed market is also impacted by general seed legislation. The current regime has been criticised and evaluated as not being conducive to the management of crop genetic diversity [15,16], which is also of great importance to organic farming. This is illustrated by debates about agrobiodiversity, farmers' rights to seed sovereignty and the privatisation of plant genetic resources [17,18].…”

Embedding Cultivated Diversity in Society for Agro-Ecological Transition

“…In first instance, conducive policies for seed production and circulation are needed. Current seed laws and policies are not designed to promote diversity in agricultural systems and thus hinder food diversity [36,82,115,116]. In fact, 'heterogeneous materials', which would allow increasing crop genetic diversity, do not have yet a valid and clear legal status, and thus cannot officially be marketed as seeds.…”