Tea plants are native to East Asia, and probably originated in the borderlands of north Burma and southwestern China. By annual per capita consumption of tea, the countries with the highest consumption are Northern Ireland (6.9 kg), Ireland (2.19kg) … Read More
The national seed associations are often the pivotal point for initiating and maintaining the communication from the seed sector to the political decision makers in a country. European Seedasked four different African seed associations what kind of i… Read More
The EU is committed to support partner countries through external policies and instruments. Emphasised in the Communication on the Future of Food and Farming of November 2017, the future common agricultural policy will play a greater role in enhancin… Read More
On 12 September 2018, on the occasion of his State of the Union Address, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Africa does not need charity, it needs true and fair partnership. And we, Europeans, need this partnership just as… Read More
From 7-9 October, the European Seed Association (ESA) held its 2018 Annual Meeting in Madrid, Spain. This year’s event has set a new record, with an attendance of 1050 participants from over 40 countries across the world, the importance of the ESA … Read More
It seems like yesterday when we started with European Seed. But in fact, we’re already five years on the road together, and what a rewarding five years it has been. Since the first issue, we have filled over 800 pages with tailored, seed-focused co… Read More
Of the top 10 food crops in the world, potato comes in at the third place, and is also the number one non-grain food product. Originally grown in the Andes, the Spanish introduced the potato to Europe in the 16th century, and, after a bumpy start, po… Read More
The attention span of a goldfish is nine seconds, whereas recent research shows that humans lose their capabilities to focus in eight seconds. For those of you whose attention span is a little longer that eight seconds you will have noted that we are… Read More
European policy making has had a great, but not always positive impact on European agriculture and the seed sector. We only need to recall the process of approving GMOs, new plant protection products, or the recent ban on neonics, just to name a few.… Read More
Farm animals can’t do without plant proteins. As a source of amino acids for livestock, they are an essential component of animal feed. The EU is raising the ambition on growing more protein crops, although agro-climatic conditions are such that ou… Read More
EU decision making Various European institutions are involved in decision-making at EU level. The most important bodies are: The European Parliament, representing the EU’s citizens and is directly elected by them The European Council, consisting of… Read More
With the expansion of cities and the disappearance of agricultural lands, I often wonder how rural the EU still is. Well, according to the EU Commission, it appears that around 85% of the EU’s territory is classified as rural (48% is farm land … Read More
To learn more about how seed companies are experiencing the new UPOV-PRISMA application tool, European Seedspoke with Astrid Schenkeveld, Specialist Variety Registration & Protection at Rijk Zwaan, and Jan Knol, Plant Variety Protection Officer a… Read More
Let’s say you just created a wonderful new variety after 10 years of crossing and selection, and now you want to protect the variety through plant breeders’ rights in a large number of countries. Until recently you had to search for the different… Read More
