Page 94 - Breeding and regulatory opportunities, Renaud

Chapter 3

Switzerland (noting that Switzerland is not part of the EU but an associated

European country), do not work with exception categories at all, preferring to

consider all requests on a case-by-case basis, using publicly available variety

equivalence lists for each species and (sub) species (Thommen et al., 2007).

Table 3.3 European seed company perspectives on prospects for regulatory closure in the EU (n=7)

Seed company Stakeholder Stakeholder Key concerns relating to the organic seed market

category
type1
level of and prospects for achieving regulatory closure
inluence1

Conventional Intermediate
Low
No commitment to support regulatory closure.
seed companies Market is too small to invest in.
(n=2)
See no added value in organically produced seed.

Fear for loss of conventional seed sales.
Conlicts with GMO and chemical agriculture
divisions.

No infrastructure to support organic certiication
requirements.

Conventional Primary
Med to high
Market is evolving and professional organic
seed companies growers require their professionally bred varieties.

with an organic Regulatory enforcement and derogation rigor
division
required.
(n=3)
Harmonization among member states needed.

More transparent access to grower varietal
requirements.
Fear for loss of conventional seed sales and trade-

ofs in proitability.
Organic seed production and breeding capacity.
Organic seed quality (seed borne diseases and

vigour).

Organic seed Market opportunity is there.
Primary
High
companies Market requires varieties bred for organic
(n=2)
production systems.

Regulatory enforcement and derogation rigor
required.
Harmonization among member states processes.

Value of biodiversity needs to be considered in
varietal assortment.
Organic seed quality (seed borne diseases and

vigour).
Organic seed production and breeding capacity.

Sources: Stakeholder analysis (columns 1-3, 2007); Content analysis of stakeholder interviews (column 4,
2007-2013).1 Stakeholder typology, deinition and level of inluence, see Table 1 Notes.

Encouraged by the rigour of the procedures for the granting and reporting of

exceptions, there are several on-going eforts by both public and private actors

to achieve 100% organic seed use, beginning with a limited range of crops.

BioSuisse, a Swiss certiication body, has created a fund to address the price

diference between organic and conventional seed. If a grower needs to use

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