EU Sowing Ordinance: Small businesses in great danger!

EU Sowing Ordinance: Small businesses in great danger!

The planned EU regulation on the registration of seeds and plant-based propagation material (PVM regulation) is criticized because it could significantly jeopardize numerous seed companies and tree nurseries. A Noah's survey, which has asked around 200 companies from 16 EU countries, shows that many providers of seeds have concerns about the new bureaucratic regulations. Small and medium -sized companies (SMEs) in particular, which often achieve less than 100,000 euros in annual sales, are affected. According to Oekonews the companies fear that valuable old varieties and the associated diversity could be lost.

The EU Commission plans to reduce the bureaucratic effort for these companies by at least 35 percent. Nevertheless, the poll results show alarming trends: 13 percent of breeders: inside and seed construction companies would have to stop working, while 30 percent would have to reduce the variety of their variety offer. 66 percent could no longer have seeds to farmer: sell inside. The planned new regulations will be negotiated in Brussels in the coming weeks, and a council working group will be on May 27 and 28, 2025 in Brussels.

bureaucratic hurdles and their consequences

The argument illuminates the challenges that affect old varieties in the context of the new EU seed regulation. The regulation bundles ten existing guidelines that regulate the purchase of seeds by farmers and is intended to cause the variety of old varieties to promote. However, while this is the goal of the reform, numerous experts like [Susanne Gura] (https://multipolar-magazin.de/artikel/neue-eu-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e--e--ei- In the future, providers of vegetable seeds will have to contact authorities and submit annual reports on displaced varieties and quantities, which represents additional burdens for small companies.

It is also particularly problematic that the new regulation provides for the same requirements for large corporations and for small businesses. This bureaucracy and the high costs for new laboratory tests, which could be up to 30,000 euros per year, particularly burden the small farms. The Noah's ark therefore demands exceptions for small companies of reporting and documentation obligations.

The importance of diversity

The preservation of old and seed -resistant varieties is not only of biodiversity, but also for adaptation to climate change. Many old varieties are specially adapted to regional production and the challenges of climate change. Companies such as the "Obst-Arboretum Olderdissen", which preserves old and rare fruit varieties, make a decisive contribution to maintaining this diversity. [Multipolar magazine] (https://multipolar-magazin.de/artikel/neue-ee-eu-saatgut regulation) emphasizes that many of these varieties do not have a patent and are therefore freely usable.

The planned reform is viewed as a potential step back by representatives of the industry. The German Farmers' Association warns of new costs through the growing administrative effort and calls for a guideline instead of a regulation. This could possibly endanger the desired progress and further restrict the diversity of the old varieties.

In this context, the lobbying of the seed industry cannot be ignored. Large companies like Bayer and BASF have their own lobby departments in Brussels to influence legislation. The challenges and opportunities that arise from the new EU seed regulation are therefore still controversial and are still intensively debated.

A fair balance between the promotion of innovations and the preservation of diversity remains one of the greatest challenges that the EU Commission has to deal with in the discussion about the new seed regulation. It remains to be seen how the negotiations will develop in the coming weeks.