Brussels, Belgium
May 5, 2016

With European agriculture up against increasing challenges and the need to develop new varieties growing, Copa & Cogeca sent a letter to the EU Commission this week urging them to clarify the legal status of new breeding techniques to give breeders legal certainty when developing varieties and a well-functioning EU single market.

Copa & Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen stressed “We need to be able to contribute to one of the biggest challenges over the next decade: the need for increased food production for a growing world population with limited resources and increasingly variable weather events. But to achieve this, we need to be innovative and develop new plant varieties and animal which are for example resistance to water and heat stress, as a way to adapt to climate change, as stated by the IPCC report on climate change”.

He continued : “New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) are consequently very important tools to support innovation in the plant breeding sector and in livestock genetic enhancement as a whole. And European farmers and their cooperatives need access to these technological advancements in order to meet the upcoming challenges and to remain competitive. But for investments to be made and for NBTs to be developed further, breeders need legal certainty and a well-functioning EU single market. We believe that NBTs should be analysed and discussed by experts on a case-by-case basis and according to scientific criteria. The EU Commission keeps delaying its Communication on the legal status of NBTs and we therefore sent a letter to Commissioner Andriukaitis urging him to accelerate the process and clarify the legal status of NBTs to ensure we have an innovative agriculture sector in the future capable of meeting growing demand. Indeed, the status of mutagenesis techniques is a prime example of why this process needs to be speeded up.”.

Website: http://www.copa-cogeca.be

Published: May 5, 2016