Sow what you sell: strategies for integrating organic breeding and seed production into value chain partnerships

Winter, Eva; Grovermann, Christian; Aurbacher, Joachim; Orsini, Stefano; Schäfer, Freya; Lazzaro, Mariateresa; Solfanelli, Francesco; Messmer, Monika

doi:10.1080/21683565.2021.1931628

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…There is a strong need for cultivars that are bred and optimized for agroecological and organic farming systems [1]. An increasing organic sector requires cultivars adapted to organic farming [2]. Reduced diversity in cropping systems is a major cause of their vulnerability to weeds, pests, and pathogens, requiring intense measures of plant protection either chemically or mechanically [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Genetic Gain and Diversity in Plant Breeding: Heritability of Root Selection in Wheat Populations

2021

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To increase the resilience of agroecological farming systems against weeds, pests, and pathogens, evolutionary breeding of diversified crop populations is highly promising. A fundamental challenge in population breeding is to combine effective selection and breeding progress while maintaining intraspecific diversity. A hydroponic system was tested for its suitability to non-destructively select root traits on a population level in order to achieve genetic gain and maintain diversity. Forty wheat progenies were selected for long seminal root length (SRL) and 40 for short SRL from a wheat composite cross population grown in a hydroponic system. Wheat progenies were multiplied, and a subset evaluated again in a hydroponic system. Preliminary tests in soil and competition experiments with a model weed were performed. The hydroponic selection for long SRL led to an increase of SRL by 1.6 cm (11.6%) in a single generation. Heritability for selection of SRL was 0.59. Selecting for short SRL had no effect. The preliminary soil-based test confirmed increased shoot length but not increased SRL. Preliminary competition experiments point to slightly improved competitive response of wheat progenies but no improved competitive effect on mustard. These results indicate a heritable selection effect for SRL on a population level, combining genetic gain and intraspecific diversity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Genetic Gain and Diversity in Plant Breeding: Heritability of Root Selection in Wheat Populations

2021

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“…To tackle the shortage of organic cultivars, Winter et al [17] proposes a value chain partnership. As the entire value chain is affected by the shortage, the financing of organic breeding should also be borne by all stakeholders involved, rather than only by farmers and breeders, as it is often the case.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The European Commission is showing a certain degree of political uncertainty as the phasing out of derogations may lead to shortages in the organic seed supply-if no complementary measures are taken [16]. Thus, legislative measures are not implemented, which in turn discourages seed producers from investing in organic PRM [3,17]. Analysis conducted within the EU Horizon 2020 project LIVESEED reveals political obstacles and bottlenecks in the implementation of the organic regulation concerning organic PRM [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Securing Commitments from Stakeholders in 10 EU Member States—The Organic Seed Declaration to Foster Stakeholder Involvement

Schäfer

Gutzen

Raaijmakers³

et al. 2022

Sustainability

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The new European organic regulation 2018/848 aims to phase out the use of non-organic seeds in organic farming by 2036. At present, achieving this goal in countries with a poorly developed organic seed sector is difficult, and therefore there is a great need to increase organic seed supply by promoting the development of the organic seed sector in Europe. This paper presents a conceptual framework to secure voluntary stakeholder involvement in the process of a gradual increase in the supply of organic seeds for organic farming. Stakeholders showed a high motivation to commit to concrete action points for moving forward. In addition, further actors were involved in the fulfillment of the commitments, a sign of a positive network effect in favor of organic seed production and use. The study indicates application potential and can complement mandatory policy instruments. Further progress monitoring is necessary to ensure that established structures maintain their function, and to keep the shared sense of responsibility alive.

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“…In general, an increase in public investment in organic plant breeding seems advisable. Other promising financing strategies that have been identified for organic breeding, such as a value chain pool funding financed by the food industry, or funding by cooperative structures, rely heavily on the voluntary engagement of value chain actors [33] and are thus uncertain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Interventions Targeting Increased Organic Seed Use—The Cases of Perennial Ryegrass in England and Durum Wheat in Italy

et al. 2021

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To meet policy goals targeting increasing the share of organic agriculture, an organic seed needs to be provided. Currently, this is far from being the case. This study investigates two cases of important crop country combinations in organic agriculture, namely perennial ryegrass in South-West England and durum wheat in Italy. A novel multi-agent value chain approach was developed to assess public and private-sector interventions aiming at increasing organic seed use. Phasing out of derogations for non-organic seed comes with 2–7% gross margin losses at the farm level. Seed producers and breeders profit by 9–24%. Mitigating measures can be subsidies of 28 €/ha or price premiums of 12 €/ton at the farm gate for durum wheat, in the case of durum wheat in Italy, and subsidies of 13 €/ha or price premiums of 70 €/ton for lamb meat, in the case of perennial ryegrass in England. Further mitigating measures are the promotion of farm-saved durum wheat seed and investments in breeding for better nitrogen efficiency in organic perennial ryegrass seed production.

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Sow what you sell: strategies for integrating organic breeding and seed production into value chain partnerships

Abstract: 2021): Sow what you sell: strategies for integrating organic breeding and seed production into value chain partnerships,

Cited by 10 publications

References 27 publications

Combining Genetic Gain and Diversity in Plant Breeding: Heritability of Root Selection in Wheat Populations

Combining Genetic Gain and Diversity in Plant Breeding: Heritability of Root Selection in Wheat Populations

Securing Commitments from Stakeholders in 10 EU Member States—The Organic Seed Declaration to Foster Stakeholder Involvement

The Effects of Interventions Targeting Increased Organic Seed Use—The Cases of Perennial Ryegrass in England and Durum Wheat in Italy

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