Category Archives: News

gatzert liveseed workshop soil seed lithuania

Soil management, organic seed and organic EU-regulation workshop in Lithuania

On 1 August 2019, a workshop focusing on soil management, organic seed, organic EU-regulation, especially regarding the mandatory database, took place in Lithuania, Ukmergė district. Xenia Gatzert from FiBL participated in the event, on behalf of LIVESEED. She introduced the project, talked about the issues of organic seed production in Europe, the current state of databases for organic seeds in the EU and about the vision of a common EU-wide router database on organic seeds, providing an interface to national databases. This aims to improve transparency and availability of organic seeds across Europe and thus increase the use of organic seeds.

liveseed, breeding, initiatives, organic, survey, field, wheat, poppies

Survey to foster collaboration between organic breeding initiatives

In the framework of our project, we have just started a survey on collaboration opportunities between organic breeding initiatives, to assess interest for cooperation in some of the project’s activities. This survey is part of Work Package 03, which focuses on the development of new breeding techniques for organic agriculture. It consists of 12 short questions and takes about 5-7 minutes to fill. Access the survey this link https://bit.ly/30tOQXU and feel free to share it widely! Deadline for participation is 15 September 2019. LIVESEED’s purpose is to boost production and use of organic seeds and plant breeding for organic agriculture

Participate in seed supplier & breeder survey – New deadline: September 2019

As a seed supplier or breeder you are invited to participate in a survey on the status quo of organic seed production in Europe. LIVESEED is aiming to reach seed producer, trader and breeder of organic and conventional seed in Europe and Switzerland, to get a better idea of the current status and motivations in seed produciton. Information on the survey: The survey is divided in two parts. In the first part we are interested in your evaluation on opportunities, risks and challenges towards organic seed production and breeding. In the second part we are aiming to collect missing data

LIVESEED FARMER SURVEY RE-OPENED!

The LIVESEED farmer survey is investigating farmers’ experiences with organic seed. The data obtained will serve as a basis to conduct further research on organic plant breeding and seed production. As a farmer, you are invited to respond to the online survey on your experience and opinion on organic seed / propagation material and plant breeding. By completing it, you will have a say on research and policy needs in this field. The survey, drafted by the Organic Research Centre (ORC) in the UK in cooperation with a large number of partners in different countries and carried out within the LIVESEED project.

Shaping the future of organic breeding & farming: BRESOV position paper published

BRESOV, a sister project of LIVESEED focusing on breeding for resilient, efficient and sustainable organic vegetable production, has recently published a Position Paper “What do bean, broccoli and tomatoes have in common? Breeding for Resilient, Efficient and Sustainable Organic Vegetable production (BRESOV)” European Seed Magazine, edition February 2019 (pp.10-11). The consumption of organically grown vegetables is increasing to the extent that in the European Union, demand for organic produce currently outstrips supply. Yet, most of the varieties used in organic farming in Europe have not been specifically developed for organic farming systems. Therefore, BRESOV will explore solutions for organic producers

National Workshop in Hungary on Organic Seed Production and Use Brings Stakeholders Together

by Judit Fehér (ÖMKi) on the National Workshop in Hungary, 12th March 2019: Organic seed is the basis for organic farming. In spite of this fact, the organic seed supply of organic farmers is quite problematic in the whole EU and also in Hungary both regarding quantity and variety assortment. Currently, Hungary – being an internationally acknowledged leading seed producer country – sells organic seeds primarily to European export markets at an amount exceeding several times the needs of the Hungarian farmers. There is a huge potential in the sector both regarding the development of the Hungarian market and increasing

First LIVESEED booklet and 2 videos published

The first LIVESEED booklet, “How to implement the organic regulation to increase production & use of organic seed”, has been published. It is divided into 3 main sections: Policy measures (from incentives to organic seed production & use, to practical implementation of organic regulation) Organic Seed Databases (national databases & EU Router Database) Alternative sources of organic seed (from farm-saved seed to Organic Heterogeneous Material) Practical examples from various EU countries help to illustrate how the organic regulation or measures to increase organic seed production and use have been successfully implemented. You find the booklet in the Publications section of

Take part in the LIVESEED farmer survey

The LIVESEED farmer survey is investigating farmers’ experiences with organic seed. The data obtained will serve as a basis to conduct further research on organic plant breeding and seed production. As a farmer, you are invited to respond to the online survey on your experience and opinion on organic seed / propagation material and plant breeding. By completing it, you will have a say on research and policy needs in this field. The survey, drafted by the Organic Research Centre (ORC) in the UK in cooperation with a large number of partners in different countries and carried out within the LIVESEED project.

Cross-visit France – video & report published

For 3 days (4-7 June 2018), participants of the LIVESEED cross-visit exchanged knowledge about organic seed production in Maisse, France. The organic seed producer UBIOS opened its doors to 20 participants from all over Europe. ITAB invited seed producers from Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece who had the chance to visit the seed cleaning station. A short report was now published on this website, introducing the concept of cross-visits within LIVESEED, coordinated by IFOAM EU to demonstrate and promote smart practices in organic seed production. The report covers impressions of the participants, proposed topics to be

Participate in seed supplier & breeder survey

As a seed supplier or breeder you are invited to participate in a survey on the status quo of organic seed production in Europe. LIVESEED is aiming to reach seed producer, trader and breeder of organic and conventional seed in Europe and Switzerland, to get a better idea of the current status and motivations in seed produciton. Information on the survey: The survey is divided in two parts. In the first part we are interested in your evaluation on opportunities, risks and challenges towards organic seed production and breeding. In the second part we are aiming to collect missing data