European seed growers met in Bjärsjölagård, Sweden, from 13 to 15 May 2024 for the European Seed Grower’ Group (ESGG) General Meeting. Despite the specific characteristics of each country, the discussions showed that the problems are the same throughout Europe: climatic hazards, increasing pressure from pests, loss of profitability, etc. In short, there were major concerns and a little optimism for the future of seed production in Europe.
The last campaign highlighted the vulnerability of seed production to excessively capricious weather and its excesses. This situation is threatening the supply of quality seed to European farmers for the 2024 harvest. These unpredictable factors add to the difficulties encountered because of political decisions have removed effective tools and replace them with random and uncertain solutions. The search for sustainable solutions requires a commitment on the part of the European governments, through support for the seed sector players. Participants were able to share promising research work being carried out in each country. These solutions, which are often costly, need time before they can be tested and generalised.
The European elections and the debates on agricultural issues are receiving special attention. Demonstrations over the winter have shown the importance of speeding up the simplification of the CAP and the challenges of food sovereignty. The first task of the next parliament will be to continue work on reforming the regulation on plant reproductive material (PRM). The aim of this regulation is to provide a common framework for the seed sector in Europe and to secure the supply of quality seed while meeting the challenges of climate and health. Variety selection must also be supported by providing Europe with genomic selection tools. Seed growers are calling on the European states to rapidly reach a consensus on the draft regulation proposed by the European Commission on July 5 and adopted by the European Parliament on February 6.
All the participants were unanimous on the need to improve the profitability of seed production, at the risk of seeing producers lose interest, of not ensuring the renewal of generations and of losing the recognised expertise of European seed growers.
ESGG member associations: AGRISEMZA (Belgium), ANAMSO (France), BDS (Germany), COAMS (Italy), Danish Seed Council (Denmark), Finnish Seed Grower Association (Finland), FNAMS (France), MTK (Finland), NFU (United Kingdom) and Sveriges Frö- och Oljeväxtodlare (Sweden).
For further information, contact Louis-Marie Colcombet (louis-marie.colcombet@fnams.fr) or your local ESGG member association.
