Contact us

PROJECT & CONTACT

info[ / at \ ]organic-plant-breeding [ / dot \ ] org

The project ‘Promoting Organic Plant Breeding in Europe’

The project ‘Promoting Organic Plant Breeding in Europe’ was initiated by the Demeter International e.V. EU Liaison Office in Brussels in January 2016. Organic plant breeding provides organic farmers with varieties which are adjusted to the low-input production system of organic agriculture. Increased organic plant breeding and cultivation will enhance the availability of regionally adapted varieties, agro-biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and environment protection.

While several breeding initiatives already work on a professional scale and have found financial support, most still lack financial stability. There are still European regions without organic breeding initiatives, mostly in the Mediterranean countries, and consequently there is lack of organic varieties suitable for these regions.

Aiming to promote the development and use of organic varieties on a European scale, the project ‘Promoting Organic Plant Breeding in Europe’ provides a platform for networking and discussion among organic plant breeders and stakeholders. In the context of this project the EU Liaison Office is organizing a series of events which cover several topics concerning organic plant breeding.

Find out more about the project aims.

Project Aims

The project aims to contribute to broadening the uptake of organic varieties in the organic sector and to stimulate organic plant breeding in Europe.

More specifically the project aims to:

  1. Build an exchange platform for discussion among organic plant breeders and stakeholders from along the organic food chain.
  2. Analyse the needs of the organic actors in order to improve the uptake of organic varieties.
  3. Explore best practice models of
    • organic breeding initiatives
    • the use of organic plant varieties in farming and processing
    • successful marketing of products containing organically bred varieties 
    • and develop visions for better cooperation among food chain partners to promote the use of organic varieties
    • Raise public and political awareness about the value of organically bred varieties

The project team of ‘Promoting Organic Plant Breeding in Europe’ is happy to cooperate with the EU project LIVESEED.

Contact us

The project team consists of

  • Maria Kaiafa (project coordinator)
  • Antje Kölling (chief editor)
  • Lina Lasithiotaki (communication)
  • Dr. Andreas Biesantz (fundraising and office management)

You can contact us at info[ / at \ ]organic-plant-breeding [ / dot \ ] org.

Articles

Press releases

Newsletters

Factsheets

Workshop and conference outcomes

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.

12.01.2017
PROJECT & CONTACT

info[ / at \ ]organic-plant-breeding [ / dot \ ] org

The project ‘Promoting Organic Plant Breeding in Europe’

The project ‘Promoting Organic Plant Breeding in Europe’ was initiated by the Demeter International e.V. EU Liaison Office in Brussels in January 2016. Organic plant breeding provides organic farmers with varieties which are adjusted to the low-input production system of organic agriculture. Increased organic plant breeding and cultivation will enhance the availability of regionally adapted varieties, agro-biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and environment protection.

While several breeding initiatives already work on a professional scale and have found financial support, most still lack financial stability. There are still European regions without organic breeding initiatives, mostly in the Mediterranean countries, and consequently there is lack of organic varieties suitable for these regions.

Aiming to promote the development and use of organic varieties on a European scale, the project ‘Promoting Organic Plant Breeding in Europe’ provides a platform for networking and discussion among organic plant breeders and stakeholders. In the context of this project the EU Liaison Office is organizing a series of events which cover several topics concerning organic plant breeding.

Find out more about the project aims.

Project Aims

The project aims to contribute to broadening the uptake of organic varieties in the organic sector and to stimulate organic plant breeding in Europe.

More specifically the project aims to:

  1. Build an exchange platform for discussion among organic plant breeders and stakeholders from along the organic food chain.
  2. Analyse the needs of the organic actors in order to improve the uptake of organic varieties.
  3. Explore best practice models of
    • organic breeding initiatives
    • the use of organic plant varieties in farming and processing
    • successful marketing of products containing organically bred varieties 
    • and develop visions for better cooperation among food chain partners to promote the use of organic varieties
    • Raise public and political awareness about the value of organically bred varieties

The project team of ‘Promoting Organic Plant Breeding in Europe’ is happy to cooperate with the EU project LIVESEED.

Contact us

The project team consists of

  • Maria Kaiafa (project coordinator)
  • Antje Kölling (chief editor)
  • Lina Lasithiotaki (communication)
  • Dr. Andreas Biesantz (fundraising and office management)

You can contact us at info[ / at \ ]organic-plant-breeding [ / dot \ ] org.

Articles

Press releases

Newsletters

Factsheets

Workshop and conference outcomes

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.