“ Farm Seed Opportunities, recommendations for on-farm conservation in Europe”

1. “Farm Seed Opportunities, recommendations for on-farm conservation in Europe” Riccardo Bocci, Véronique Chable, Kastler Guy, Louwaars Niels Farmers’ Rights Global Consultation Conference 23-25 November, 2010 STREP project contract no. 044345, under the 6th Framework Programme, priority 8.1, "Specific Support to Policies."

2. Seed laws in Europe, the state of the art Better regulation 2009 2010 2011 stakeholders expectations 3 Scenarios for the future New directives on seeds Conservation varieties directives 2008 2009 - 2010??? directive 62/2008, cereals directives on vegetables and mixtures 2

3. Conservation varieties • “Whereas it is essential to ensure that plant genetic resources are conserved; whereas a legal basis to that end should be introduced to permit, within the framework of legislation on the seed trade, the conservation, by use in situ, of varieties threatened with genetic erosion” PGR Conservation Seed legislation 3

4. Farm Seed Opportunities - FSOopportunities for farm seed conservation, breeding and production • January 2007 March 2010 • Its origins: • Difficulties in the implementation of the 98/95 directive on conservation varities. • FP6 Call Scientific Support to Policies 4

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6. 1966 EU catalogue 1992 Rio convention on biodiversity 2002 Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources 98/95 regulation 2008 CV * regulation DUS system Adapted DUS system What regulation systems for each kind of varieties? IPGRI descriptors Registered varieties Conservation, amateur varieties Organic varieties Farmer varieties Landraces * Conservation varieties

7. Cultivated varieties:The European reality Varieties from seed companies “farmers’ varieties” and PPB* Landraces, conservation varieties: an inheritance Source of the basic picture: GNIS documents - France * Participatory Plant Breeding

8. A new approach is needed 8

9. Seed Systems informal formal 9

10. Beyond Conservation Vs 10

11. different varieties for different markets with different innovation system 11

12. FSO Recommendations Finding a right balance between formal and informal seed systems within European context should be one of the objectives of a regional strategy for on farm conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Such a strategy will also concretely address the implementation of the article 6 on sustainable use of PGR of the ITPGRFA and article 9 on FRs. We remind that article 6 is mandatory for Contracting Parties and is addressing to all the crops and not only to these listed in annex I, as for example in the case of the Multilateral System. 12

13. Questions to be addressed • How to finance PPB in a trend of decreasing of public investment in agricultural research? • How to promote an informal seed system with good quality, without opening the room to unfair competition amongst seed industries? • How to deal with VCU systems for varieties for alternative farming systems, e.g. the varieties listed in paragraph 6.2? • How the Conservation varieties directives will be interpreted and implemented by Member States? • Not a lot of research has been done on the impact of market instruments on agrobiodiversity. Even if a lot of projects and researches have been undertaken on Geographical Indications – analysing their impact on rural development, their economic benefit, the impact on small farmers or as a key for local innovation through collective action - very few words have been spent in order to check the compatibility of GIs with agrobiodiversity and in particular their coherence with seed laws. 13

14. “it is impossible to replace farmers’ seed systems completely and it would be unwise to try. Farmers’ seed systems provide an important component of food security, a vital haven for diversity and space for further evolution of PGR” (FAO, 2009). 14

15. Questions to be addressed Thanks for your attention! 15