November 2018, “Seed for future food systems”
Conference Report
Video "Seed for future food systems" Conference
May 2018, “Let’s get real – how to build up your organic plant breeding business”
Workshop Report
Video "Let’s get real – how to build up your organic plant breeding business"
October 2017, Conference: Seed as a commons – key for organic plant breeding Establishing alternatives to seed monopolies
Press release
Video "Organic Plant Breeding: Seeds as Commons"
Market concentration in the seed sector is growing incessantly. Demanding better seed policies is not enough to stop this trend. Therefore, the conference “Seed as Commons” has introduced and discussed such strategies in Brussels with the support of Demeter International, The Section for Agriculture at the Goetheanum and MEP Maria Heubuch.
June 2017, Experts’ workshop: Business models for organic plant breeding – chances and challenges.
Full report. The workshop was a platform to exchange experiences and discuss approaches to build successful networks and business models for organic plant breeding (OPB) as well as to increase the use of organic plant varieties on organic farms. Strategies to face the risks associated to new gene technologies were the second focus of the meeting. It was attended by stakeholders from 11 countries. This workshop was organized in cooperation with Bingenheimer Saatgut AG and Kultursaat e.V., it was supported by the IFOAM EU Group and took place in Echzell, Germany.
December 2016, Experts' workshop: Traders, Retailers and Consumers: What is their role in Organic Plant Breeding?
Full report. Ways to raise the awareness about Organic Plant Breeding among the whole organic food chain with a focus on consumers were subject of this workshop. It attendees represented retail companies, organic seed multiplication/breeding companies and initiatives, breeders and researchers from six European countries. This workshop was organized in cooperation with Estafette Odin in Amsterdam and was supported by the IFOAM EU Group.
May 2016, Conference: Who pays for Seeds? Thoughts and Discussion on Financing Organic Plant Breeding
Full report. With MEP Maria Heubuch and Dr. Johannes Wirz as main speakers, this kicked off the discussion on how to overcome the current lack of funding to finance organic breeding. More than 50 stakeholders took part in the lively discussion organized in Brussels in cooperation with IFOAM EU Group at the European Social and Economic Committee.
May 2016, Experts’ Workshop: Promoting organic varieties - breeding and cultivation in Europe.
The kick-off expert workshop of the Project sharpened the vision and objectives of our project. It also served to create synergies and to avoid overlaps with other projects working on similar topics.