LIVESEED: Tools and incentives for the value chain involved in organic seed

According to Article 48 of Regulation EC No 834/2007, the establishment of a national database to list all offered organic seed and seed potatoes is mandatory for all EU Member States. Any organic seed offer that has not been registered in the national organic seed databases shall be considered ‘unavailable’ and derogations on the use of untreated, conventional seed can be granted. To match organic producers’ realities, the European Union set a deadline to phase out these derogations by 2036 (Regulation EC No 2018/848), but in the meantime, organic seed offers must be added to the national databases

EU router database connecting national organic seed databases

Within the Horizon 2020 LIVESEED project, an EU router database has been programmed aiming to give access to national organic seed databases of 28 EU Member States and Switzerland with one single login. The EU router database is designed as a back‐end database allowing information exchange between seed suppliers and representatives of national competent authorities.

The platform can grow to display information on organic cultivars, smart practices implemented at national level, national derogation reports as well as other relevant reports. To reduce language barriers, the database will be available in 22 EU languages. The EU router data base will contribute largely to improve transparency of the organic seed market in the EU.

User guides for national competent authorities and for seed suppliers are available.

Inspiration from the ground on using organic seed

Inspiring incentives for farmers to increase the use of organic seed from the value chain at national level are collected in the LIVESEED booklet. Examples include pre-financing organic seed through the value-chain (Italy), access to a specific variety requested by the market (the Netherlands), expanding the range of cultivars adapted to organic and local conditions (Hungary), and improving seed quality (Romania). Seed suppliers can utilize these incentives to develop schemes that motivate farmers to use organic seed, based on economic, social, technical, ethical or ecological factors. The LIVESEED project.