Agriculture bill ‘a missed opportunity’ – ESA
The European Seed Association (ESA) has criticised the European Parliament (EP) for voting down elements of a bill that would promote innovation in plant breeding and seed development.
The organisation has said that it welcomes the passing of the motion which calls for a European Parliament resolution on technical solutions to sustainable agriculture in the EU, but regrets that a more holistic approach which incorporated all of the report’s suggestions and was backed by the Committee for Agriculture, was not taken.
The ESA’s secretary general, Garlich V Essen, said the text has lost “a good part” of its holistic approach, which represented a missed opportunity: “To some extent the EP has missed the point and an important opportunity here. Plant breeding innovation is recognised as a key driver of productivity and sustainability of farmers and the entire food chain … We would therefore have considered a more concrete pro-innovation message from the EP more appropriate in sending a strong signal of policy support to the public and private plant breeding sector, as well as to the European Commission.”
The ESA points to a study published earlier this year, which suggests that genetic crop modification has added €14bn to Europe’s GDP since 2000, and that plant breeding can reduce CO2, highlighting its importance in reaching climate change targets. The organisation acknowledges that Europe remains a world leader in seed development, but warns that other countries are beginning to overtake and that the European Parliament and European Commission need to encourage more extensive practical use of research.
