Brussels, Belgium
April 17, 2007Source:
Midday Express
A European Commission proposal
aimed at protecting seed varieties of agricultural crops which
may be threatened by genetic erosion was backed by the Standing
Committee on Seeds and Propagating material for Agriculture,
Horticulture and Forestry today.
The proposal foresees derogations
from EU seed marketing legislation for seed varieties that are
naturally adapted to local conditions but which currently cannot
be marketed due to the fact that they do not fulfil certain
mandatory criteria.
Under EU legislation, seed
varieties must undergo an approval process and be inscribed in
the national and in the Common seed catalogues before they can
be marketed within the territory of the EU. Moreover, the
multiplication of seed of these varieties has to meet certain
criteria, which is officially certified.
These rules ensure that EU farmers
have access to high quality seed. However, certain varieties
which are not inscribed in the catalogues and do not conform to
the strict EU criteria are still important for ensuring that
plant genetic diversity is not diminished.
The Commission has therefore
proposed that these varieties could be inscribed in the
catalogues without official examination, once they meet set
minimum standards. Furthermore, they could be produced and
marketed without official certification, according to the text
agreed today.
In order to ensure that these
varieties are only used for the envisaged objective,
quantitative restrictions will apply to the production and
marketing of these varieties, and they will only be allowed to
be marketed in the region to which they are naturally adapted.
This proposal will have benefits
for the environment, by helping to preserve biodiversity, and
will also enable small plant breeding companies to supply local
markets with naturally adapted seed varieties. |
