From 10–13 February 2026, the Nuremberg Exhibition Center (Germany) will once again host BIOFACH, the world’s leading trade fair for organic food. The 2026 focus theme, “Growing Tomorrow: Young Voices, Bold Visions”, highlights how new generations of changemakers are shaping the future of organic food and farming in an increasingly unstable world.
LiveSeeding will join BIOFACH 2026 to contribute to ongoing discussions on the future of organic seeds and breeding. Below you can find the details of our LiveSeeding session at the trade fair.
LiveSeeding session: Joining Forces to Enable Financing for Organic Plant Breeding
One of the biggest barriers to scaling organic plant breeding is not a lack of ideas, but a lack of stable, long-term financing. This session focuses on practical ways to enable funding for GMO-free, NGT-free organic plant breeding, and to strengthen the initiatives that work on locally adapted, resilient cultivars.
Organic seed and breeding initiatives are often small or medium-sized and operate in fragmented markets. At the same time, organic varieties need to be developed under organic conditions and adapted to diverse environments, which makes breeding more time-intensive and costly. This creates a structural gap between public ambition and the resources available on the ground.
This session will explore concrete financing approaches, including value chain contributions, public support, blended finance options, and consumer-supported initiatives.
Date, time and location
BIOFACH 2026, Nuremberg Exhibition Center
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
16:45-17:45
Riga Room
Agenda
Moderator: Stefan Doeblin (Living Seeds Sementes Vivas SA & Lebende Samen e.V.)
- 16:45–16:50 – Introduction: why organic plant breeding is important, Stefan Doeblin
- 16:50–16:55 – Overview of governance and financing models of organic plant breeding initiatives, Dr Monika Messmer (FiBL Switzerland) – Scientific Coordinator of the LiveSeeding project
- 16:55–17:00 – Concrete example of an innovative financing mechanism: Spanish scoping project with the Triodos Foundation, Caroline Formont (IFOAM Organics Europe)
- 17:00–17:40 – Interactive session: How to increase funding for organic plant breeding, Jytte Von Salis (Executive Assistant at Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft), Lukas Nossol (Head of Communication at Dennree), Urs Brändli (Bio Suisse President)
- 17:40–17:45 – Closing remarks and call for action
For more information about BIOFACH 2026 and to explore the complete programme, visit the BIOFACH website.
