Main objective of LIVESEEDING project is to foster the growth of the organic sector and transition towards more sustainable local food systems by delivering high quality organic seed of diverse cultivars adjusted to organic farming for a wide range of crops.
To reach the “100 % organic seed target by 2036”, LIVESEEDING strives to:
- Increase and optimize crop diversity to be used in organic farming systems
- Increase transparency of the organic seed market
- Advance pre- and post- registration cultivar testing dedicated to organic farming
- Increase supply of organic seed
- Ensure efficient scaling out and scaling up of organic seed and breeding initiatives
- Promote competitiveness of the organic seed and breeding sector
- Capacity building and participatory knowledge creation from seed to plate
- Promote organic breeding supported by value chain partners and society
LIVESEEDING Work Packages (WP)
- Deliver new scientific insights and selection tools for functional traits relevant to organic production, and OHM and OV candidates, advanced landraces with broader biodiversity potential derived from existing and new organic breeding activities
- Deliver proof-of-concept novel cultivar testing models with simplified designs
- Elucidate the importance of the seed microbiome for seed vigour and its implication for seed treatments
- Provide tailored solutions for farmers, seed savers, seed companies to guarantee seed vigour following a holistic seed health strategy, seed sanitation methods for organic and conventional seed companies reducing synthetic seed treatments in agriculture to increase profitability of organic seed production from farm to industrial scale
- Facilitate a considerable scaling out and scaling up of organic seed production of suitable cultivars by providing training, different business models and plans for economically viable start-up and enterprises in organic breeding, cultivar testing and seed production for different types of organisations
- Provide scientific data on the ecological and societal impact of OHM and OV, deliver narratives and marketing strategies for products derived from OHM and OV to foster partnership between organic breeding initiatives and value chain actors, and consumer awareness on biodiversity and breeding via citizen science, and local, national and EU food policies
- Contribute to a thriving organic seed and breeding sector through seed market transparency, monitoring of progress, close collaboration with national authorities to promote 100% organic seed, and activities at the science-policy-society interface
PROJECT AMBITIONS:
LIVESEEDING primary ambition is to reach a quantum leap in the development of a strong and economically viable organic breeding and seed sector in Europe by following a supply-demand-based PUSH-PULL-ENABLE strategy.
PUSH
Elucidate the importance of the seed microbiome for seed vigour and its implication for seed treatments
Facilitate a considerable scaling out and scaling up of organic seed production of suitable cultivars
PULL
Provide scientific data on the ecological and societal impact of OHM and OV, deliver narratives and marketing strategies for products derived from OHM and OV to foster partnership between organic breeding initiatives and value chain actors, and consumer awareness on biodiversity and breeding via citizen science, and local, national and EU food policies
ENABLE
„PULL-PUSH-ENABLE“ pathway to impact combines factors that drive both, demand (PULL) and supply (PUSH) of organic seed and cultivars across the down-stream (breeders, farmers, seed producers) and upstream (processors, retailers, local markets, citizens) value chain, supported by an enabling framework at the science-policy-society interface (ENABLE).
LIVESEEDING’s primary ambition is to reach a quantum leap in the development of a strong and economically viable organic breeding and seed sector in Europe, through a multi-actor approach. It builds on the previous EU-funded project, LIVESEED, and will implement research findings into EU-wide practice
Monika Messmer
FiBL-CH scientific coordinator
LIVESEEDING project comes at a critical moment, to help achieve the ambitious targets the European Union set for the organic seed sector in the Farm2Fork Strategy and EU organic regulation. To reach 100 % organic seed use in organic farming by 2035 and 25 % of EU land under organic management by 2030, we need a six-fold increase in the production of organic seeds in the next 10 years. Such a massive increase will only be possible by joining forces. LIVESEEDING project brings together leading organisations in the sector
Miguel De Porras
FiBL Europe
Innovation will be cogenerated in 17 living labs involving the whole value chain, from breeding to consumers and citizens. Learning will be distilled in capacity building for national authorities to apply more coherently the new organic regulation (Reg. EU 2018/848) and policy dialogue with European policymakers to advance the Farm2Fork strategy
Mariateresa Lazzaro
FiBL-CH, scientific coordinator
