News & Events

Production of Organic Seeds: A Business Case – LIVESEED cross-visit to the Netherlands

The 3rd LIVESEED cross-visit was hosted by the Louis Bolk Institute in cooperation with Bionext, and focused on organic seed production of vegetable crops and potatoes. From 30 September to 3 October 2019, a multi-actor expert team, consisting of farmers, breeders, seed producers, researchers, and trainers participated from across Europe, especially from countries where organic seed production is less developed and/or has particular needs. The colourful programme led the team to various stations along the value chain of organic seeds. As a starting point served the Centre for Genetic Resources at Wageningen University, where participants got an insight into latest research on how to optimise seed

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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.

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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

A unique opportunity provided by the LIVESEED project: Cross-visit in Italy

20.06.2019 Cereal breeders from several EU Member States where organic seed production and use is relatively underdeveloped were given a rare opportunity to learn from Italian experiences and initiatives. Rete Semirurali, one of the Italian partners of the LIVESEED project organised a colourful program. Participants of the cross-visit checked out the Italian Ministry of Agriculture’s Research Agency’s comparative field trials. These trials cover all Italian and German registered bread wheat CCP for evaluation by the expert group of the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission (DG SANTE). This evaluation is part of the implementation of

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

LIVESEED Events at BioFach 2019

BioFach Organic Fair, Nurenberg, Germany, 13-16 February, 2019 In 2019, the LIVESEED project will have a stand at the “Organic right from the start” exhibition and conference space. This exhibition goes along with a colourful program on organic breeding. For a full overview of the exhibition calendar, please visit the following BioFach page: https://www.biofach.de/en/events/2/organic-right-from-the-start/691458 Workshop on organic plant breeding in a system–based approach – Tuesday, 12th February, 13.00-17.30, Room Athens, NCC Mitte, 1st Floor As part of LIVESEED, IFOAM EU, the Louise Bolk Institute (Netherlands), and FIBL Switzerland are co-organising a workshop to discuss what concrete engagements stakeholder groups across

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