New router database connects Member States’ organic seed databases
A long-awaited solution for seed suppliers, European organic farmers, and national authorities arrived.
The new router database will increase the availability of seed of organic varieties and help increase the transparency of the European organic seed market.
EU Member states need to establish a national database listing all offered organic seed and seed potatoes according to EU regulation. Seed offers not registered in national databases are considered “unavailable” and derogations for farmers can be granted to use untreated conventional seeds. The European Union will phase out these derogations by 2036, thus organic seed supply needs to increase considerably, and more offers must be available in the national databases. Seed companies willing to sell in other Member States face high administrative burdens and language barriers in adding their offer to different national databases.
In the framework of the Horizon 2020 funded LIVESEED project, FiBL-Germany developed the EU-wide router database.
“The router database will allow entering seed offers in national databases from one single account. Farmers across Europe will have access to a wider assortment of organic seed varieties in their national databases. User guides for seed suppliers and national authorities are available in English and will be translated in several European languages.” says Xenia Gatzert, who was involved in the development.
The router database is open to all interested parties and offers information on:
• Registered seed suppliers,
• Links to national organic seed databases,
• Organic production regulations, and
• Information to public-funded projects in the organic seed and breeding sector.
Online training for national competent authorities will take place on 26th April 2021 from 14-16 PM CET, for seed companies/suppliers on 28th April 2021 from 10-12 AM CET. If you would like to participate, please send an e-mail for registration for the respective training to Xenia.Gatzert@fibl.org.
Authorities will receive login-data before the training via email, seed suppliers can create an account themselves by visiting www.seeds4organic.eu.
Key contact for the EU router database: Ms. Xenia Gatzert, Email address: xenia.gatzert@fibl.org
LIVESEED is a research project boosting the availability and use of organic seed in Europe, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 under grant agreement No 727230 and by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) under contract number 17.00090. IFOAM Organics Europe (Belgium) and FiBL-Switzerland coordinate the project. www.liveseed.eu, @LIVESEEDeu on Twitter and Facebook
FiBL (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) in Germany has a long-standing experience in research and service projects in organic seed production and use and is the administrator of the OrganicXSeeds database,
applied in six EU Member States and further three European countries. http://www.fibl.org/en/homepage.html @FiBL on Twitter and Facebook
IFOAM Organics Europe is the European umbrella organisation for organic food and farming. We represent organic in European policymaking and advocate for a transformation of food and farming. Our work is based on the principles of organic agriculture – health, ecology, fairness and care. With more than 200 members in 34 European countries, our work spans the entire organic food chain. www.organicseurope.bio, @OrganicsEurope on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
