More than 400 participants attended the Euroseeds Congress on 11-13 October, marking a success for this first fully-fledged virtual experience. The congress featured an exhibition hall, a trade area, a networking lounge and most of all insightful presentations and panel discussions on many priorities topics for the seed sector in Europe.

“The EU Green Deal and its Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies: can plant breeding and seed innovation deliver?” was the common theme that brought together different discussions. Plenty of experts came together on the virtual platform to look at all the aspects that will be decisive for the ability of the plant breeding and seed innovation sector to successfully contribute to a truly sustainable Green Deal.

The intellectual property discussion on Monday morning addressed the delicate balance between the need to foster investment and protect access.

The following horizontal topic focused on the opportunities and restrictions of the use of the latest plant breeding methods.

Another panel debate kicked off with reference to the 25% target of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030, indicated in the Green Deal.

“Getting more from less: how to how to support a reduction of pesticide and fertilizer use without losing out on food security and safety” was the next horizontal topic.

Two very interesting debates took place on the on-going evaluation of the EU seed marketing legislation. The first one looked at the expectations and needs of professional seed users and seed suppliers while the second one concentrated on non-professional markets.

Last but not least, the open part of the General Assembly looked at the overall direction of the EU Green Deal and how realistic its objectives really are.

Prof. Tim Searchinger, Senior Fellow and Technical Director, Food Program, World Resources Institute, USA, set the scenes and outlined world trends in agriculture and food production.

You can see more material from there in our gallery.