Yesterday the NGOs working on the seed law revision I’ve posted about several times, most recently here, received a 3rd and probably final EU Commission draft [Update: This draft has been updated, the last Commission draft can be downloaded from here.] of the legislation. This is a major rewriting of previous drafts, 124 pages, but not significantly different. It’s better written and easier to understand, but the consequences are mostly the same.
There are some new provisions apparently making it legal for individuals and seed saving organizations to engage in seed trading, something we’ve been promised for a while now. This is still not possible for farmers!
In a very promising way, there are three new classes of seeds introduced under this latest draft, however with significant limitations for all of them.
Officially Recognized Description (ORD)
This is a classification limited to older varieties, those on the market before the enactment of this legislation. They will still have to be classified according to region of origin, regardless of if this is clear or how many regions it was previously grown in, however will be allowed to be registered for multiple regions. It will only be allowed to be grown in the region(s) of origin, and it will still need to be maintained by an official seed company.
This is a different set of regulations that now exist for these types of seeds, and is cumbersome in it’s own way. Many smaller seed companies won’t be able to satisfy these requirements, or will be forced to resell purchased seeds instead of growing their own. In particular, that it must be maintained in it’s region of origin is not very sensible.
This new concept might benefit some consumers, in that some older varieties may make it onto market that aren’t available now, but probably only the larger companies will find it profitable to grow these and produce seed.
Niche Varieties
This is one of the more promising new concepts, essentially everything goes here. No seed registration is necessary. There are however 2 important limitations:
1. This will be limited to companies with less than €75.000 annual turnover or assets, and a maximum of 4 employees.
2. The seeds and/or products may only be sold once, to the final user, who may not resell them directly, or re-propagate the material for further sale.
What good is this? The €75.000 in annual turnover is not profit, it’s total revenue in after paying expenses needs to pay the salaries of the 4 employees! Then, whoever buys the products from this company must be the end user, so it won’t be possible to make use of any wholesaler or distributor.
In effect, this will make it possible for a very altruistic person, to sell their garden vegetables at a farmers market.
Heterogeneous Material
This is also a promising new class of material, unfortunately we don’t know anything about it, because it’s a ‘delegated act’, meaning the details will be worked out later.
I can tell you right now, if it’s limited to companies with less than €75.000 annual turnover or assets, and a maximum of 4 employees, it won’t mean anything.
We must continue to oppose this law until our demands are met!
Please sign the petition if you haven’t already done so!
Demands of Civil Society
- No obligatory registration and certification for open pollinated seeds and other PRM not protected by a IPR.
- The scope of the regulation must remain limited to marketing of PRM with a view to commercial exploitation
- The exchange of seeds and other plant reproductive material between farmers and individuals must be excluded from the scope of the regulation
- Open pollinated varieties and seeds bred for organic farming or specific local conditions must not be discriminated against by any norms, procedures or plant health requirements.
- Micro and small enterprises need only comply with very basic rules concerning labelling and packaging, unless they are dealing with GMO or with PRM protected by IPRs (Plant Variety Protection or patents).
- Ensure public transparency on breeding methods and IPR associated with registered varieties and plants.
- Voluntary registration based on officially recognized descriptions shall be possible for all species and genera, without registration deadlines, or restrictions concerning when first marketed or geographic origin.
Press Contact
Journalists can contact the author of this blog for more information.
Email
Mobile phone: +31 6 40109417
Skype: patrick _wiebe (with prior arrangement)
One Reply to “New EU Seed Law Draft”