Brussels, Belgium
May 21, 2013

Tomorrow’s International Day of Biodiversity (22 May) is a great occasion to recall the importance of biodiversity, its conservation and the sustainable use of its components for Europe’s plant breeders.

The European seed industry plays a key role in the conservation and creation of biodiversity for agricultural production, by recombining plant genetic resources through a process of crossing and selection. Such new plant varieties are capable of adapting to changing climatic conditions, provide higher yields, quality and better resistances to pests and are more resource efficient. To be able to continuously respond to such challenges, plant breeders need easy and guaranteed access to plant gene pools all over the world. Guaranteeing access to genetic resources is therefore essential for agriculture and the sustainable development of productive farming.

This is recognised by the FAO under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food & Agriculture (ITPGRFA), adopted in 2001. "This specific international agreement has enabled plant breeders to continue their work by enhancing the sustainable use and conservation of plant genetic resources, while allowing for high levels of innovation in plant breeding", argues Garlich von Essen, Secretary General of ESA.

As the European Union is currently reflecting on a set of implementing rules to ratify the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing for genetic resources, these rules should take into account the specific nature of plant breeding. "ESA welcomes the initiative of the EU to ratify the Nagoya Protocol as soon as possible and the respective proposal for an implementing regulation and underlines the need to maintain the principle of easy access. It is key that Europe builds up a legal framework which provides reasonable and workable rules for European businesses and do not hinder the development of European R&D”, comments von Essen.

Today, the ITPGRFA covers 64 species of specific value for food and agriculture and provides an international framework for access and benefit-sharing and a multilateral system. "What the ITPGRFA has also achieved is to stimulate collaborative projects between seed companies and gene banks around the world, to preserve and characterise genetic material. This should be further encouraged in the future".

Access ESA’s latest factsheet on Biodiversity

Website: http://www.euroseeds.org

Published: May 21, 2013