Synthesis of the LIVESEED’s results is available in the full report: D6.3 Policy and stakeholder recommendations to boost organic seed & breeding sector
The main objectives were addressed in different Work Packages:
WP1: Regulation & policy framework regarding production, use, and transparency of organic seed
WP2: Improving cultivar testing, seed multiplication & health for high quality seeds for the organic sector
- D2.1 Overview on the current organizational models for cultivar testing for Organic Agriculture over some EU countries
- D2.5 Inventory of scientific, legal, and technical measures to improve the quality of seed health in organic
- D5.7 Success stories on organic seed production & breeding – Experiences from LIVESEED cross-visits
WP3: Innovative breeding strategies for organic agriculture
WP4: Socio-Economic Aspects of Organic Breeding and Seed Production
- D4.1 Report on the relative importance of different factors encouraging farmers to use/ not use the organic seed in organic supply chains
- D4.2 Report describing three crop case studies investigating in detail the socio-economic factors influencing the behaviour of various stakeholders regarding the use of organic seed
WP5 & WP6 Knowledge and innovation transfer
Highlights and key results of the LIVESEED project are:
- EU‐wide router database for organic seed to feed into national databases
- In‐depth analysis to overcome political bottlenecks and derived regulatory and policy measures to increase the production and use of organic seed
- Organic cultivar testing protocols and models developed for characterization of heterogeneous populations and notification of organic heterogeneous material release of organic varieties adjusted for organic production post‐release on‐farm cultivar testing under organic conditions
- Case by case toolbox of 5 elements for identification and description of OHM for notification
- Cost‐efficient decentralized on farm testing networks supported by citizen science tools
- Increased awareness of seed quality specifications in the organic sector
- Collection of smart practices related to organic seed production
- Innovative approaches of organic plant breeding
- Implementation of breeding for diversity for development of organic cultivar mixtures, composite cross and dynamic population, and for developing material suitable for annual cereal – legume mixtures, perennial lucerne‐grass mixtures
- Improved understanding on plant microbe interaction and holobiont based breeding strategies
- Development of phenotypic screening tools and molecular markers for tolerance against complex soil borne diseases in pea, smut resistance in wheat, anthracnose, calcinoses and alkaloid content in lupines
- New European breeding networks supporting small organic breeders and seed producers
- Improved breeding populations and cultivars selected for and under organic farming conditions
- Increased understanding of organic consumer attitudes to the use of new breeding techniques
Main outcomes of the LIVESEED project:
1. Developed Roadmap towards 100% organic seed of adjusted cultivars in Europe
2. Recommendations for key stakeholders and policy makers to reach 100% organic seed of adjusted cultivars in Europe
LIVESEED project has been featured in the video of the European Commission „How can research contribute to policymaking?“.
LIVESEED is presented as a successful example of an EU-funded project being based on the in-depth assessment of the legal framework, challenges and opportunities, as well as the needs of all stakeholders!
Find out how basing policy making on research contributes to finding the right solutions for specific problems in the video:
