Commission opens public consultation on the review of the seed legislation

The Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) is reviewing the Union’s options to update the existing seed legislation. Their objective is making the Seed Directives more comprehensive and align them with goals of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies.

Their roadmap for the Impact Assessment has been published. You can find and download it on the Commission’s page Revision of the plant and forest reproductive material legislation (europa.eu).

IFOAM Organics Europe, with the active contribution of its Seed Expert Group, is preparing replies to the consultation. It will include the need to facilitate the registration of seed varieties for low-input systems like organic farming.  As mentioned in the Commission study, coherence with the New EU Organic Regulation is key and options to modify the seed legislation must not conflict with the new possibilities regarding plant reproductive material that are defined in Regulation (EU) 2018/848. 

For more information on the seed legislation and IFOAM Organics Europe’s work on this issue, please contact [email protected]. Please do note that we prioritise our members’ requests.

For information about what you can gain from being a member, read our membership page and contact [email protected].