More than two hundred European organizations have urged European Union governments to amend the wording of the new Plant Reproductive Material Regulation, currently in the approval phase. According to their complaints, the rule could restrict practices essential to the sector, such as seed exchange or the conservation of traditional varieties, putting cultivated biodiversity and the basic rights of farmers at serious risk.
Among the signatory entities are several Canarian organizations, such as Ecogomera; the El Frescal Agro-livestock Association; the La Palma Seed Network; SAT El Jable; the Lanzarote Seed Network Semillando; the Gran Canaria Ecological Agriculture Association Tierra Fértil; and the Canarian Seed Network, along with agricultural professionals and environmental groups
Organizations warn that the current proposal could represent an unprecedented setback for European agrobiodiversity, a key element in addressing the impacts of climate change. Therefore, they are calling for clearer rules to protect organic farming, an accessible registry for conservation varieties, and a reduction in administrative burdens for small businesses in the sector.
If the Council of the EU does not introduce modifications in the coming weeks, they warn, the regulation could compromise the continent's agricultural resilience and endanger the seed diversity that underpins local food systems
