These hands are holding characteristic heads of the rare species of Georgian Zanduri wheat, Triticum timopheevii.
© Hannes Lorenzen
Seeds4All is a census platform aiming to give visibility to all European organisations that collect, enrich, produce, disseminate and sustainably use traditional and new varieties of seeds belonging to the public domain, freely reproducible and not genetically modified.
By presenting a broad range of organisations – NGOs, citizens' initiatives, businesses, formal & informal networks – as well as by exhibiting the number of cultivated plant varieties they keep, Seeds4All wishes to promote this emerging sector, while creating a much needed space for common knowledge and experience sharing.
Seeds4All hopes to become a medium facilitating access to information about seed-swaps and market development
opportunities in Europe; as well as to demonstrate how rich and diverse are the kinds of initiatives dedicated to
preserve agrobiodiversity and how they can learn from each other, in order to grow and be spread everywhere.
2022 is a special year, as it will start with the entry into force of the new European Regulation on organic production, introducing the possibility of marketing seeds of 'organic heterogeneous material' (OHM) without any obligation to be registered in official catalogues.
We believe that this new legislation is a real advance for cultivated biodiversity and could reinforce the sustainability of organic agriculture by allowing the marketing of a greater quantity and diversity of truly organic seeds.
For these regulatory advances to be effective, it is necessary though that field operators seize them and commit to the marketing, reproduction and use of seed of organic heterogeneous material.
With this in mind, we have been working on the publication of a brochure outlining the regulatory steps to be taken in order to market OHM-labelled varieties.
It is only available in English at the moment. We are currently working on a German version in collaboration with the organisation Arche Noah, as well as a French and a Dutch versions.
If you would like to receive a few copies to distribute to your members and partners, please contact us directly by mail. We'll ask you to cover the postage costs only.
Otherwise you can download the digital version below ; and send us your feedback!
The Seeds4All platform is meant to grow thanks to the input of the seed distributors themselves.
The criteria to comply with...
- Being an organisation geographically located in Europe (not necessarily within the European Union).
- Being committed to the promotion, protection and enhancement of agrobiodiversity.
- Dealing with material belonging to the public domain, freely reproducible and not genetically modified.
If you run or take part in an organisation that meets these principles, you are very welcome to feature it and to contribute to the
inventory!
The Agricultural and Rural Convention for 2020 (ARC2020) and the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity (EC-LLD)
support the vision and the development of the Seeds4All initiative that will help to multiply opportunities for cooperation between biodiversity keepers and to highlight the extent of their commitment, which has been legally insecure for too long.
Seeds4All and ARC2020 have joined the Global Bean Project, which promotes the cultivation, use and consumption of legumes as a necessary step to a sustainable agricultural transition.
The Global Bean Project has been initiated by The global plot - 2000 m2 for all! To date, it brings together about 40 partner organisations around a long-term programme including: seed exchange, show gardens, cooking events, monthly lectures and network meetings, a knowledge hub and plenty of information and motivating media.
Next meeting will be a public lecture on 10th of February, 5pm, about "exploring bean diversity".
You can already register to the first Global Bean Seed Festival, which will be held online on March 2nd, from 5 to 8pm, providing an already exciting programme!
