European Union lifts ban on heirloom seeds after 37 years of prohibition.
The European Parliament has approved a package of measures relating to the trade of organic food in the region; among these proposals is the authorization for farmers to market organic and organic seeds directly.
Brazil of Fact - The European Parliament approved, at the end of April, a package of measures relating to the trade of agroecological food in the region. Among these proposals is the authorization for farmers to market organic and agroecological seeds directly.
Currently, in countries that are part of the European Union, it is only possible to sell registered seeds, and the seed registration process, besides being lengthy, usually costs more than 5 euros (approximately 21,8 reais). Furthermore, the registration process also requires that the seeds be stable and homogeneous, which are usually those manipulated in laboratories and produced with pesticides, excluding the registration of heirloom seeds, as they are not uniform.
The new measures taken, aimed at supporting organic production and small farmers, open up new possibilities and allow European consumers to find a wider variety of products than is currently available in the region's market.
Thus, when the new legislation comes into effect in two and a half years, it will mark the end of the ban on the sale of heirloom seeds on the continent, which have been excluded from the official catalog for 37 years, since the approval of a decree in 1981 that resulted in the standardization of foods, most of which are the product of seeds from multinational companies such as Monsanto.
The legalization of the commercialization of heirloom seeds represents a victory for peasant organizations and small farmers, as it recognizes the ancestral wisdom of traditional agriculture and values organic and agroecological production, contributing to the maintenance of biodiversity.
However, according to the Spanish newspaper El PaísHowever, the decision does not represent a complete liberalization of the seed market in the European Union, one of the most regulated in the world. Farmers will still need to register their seeds, but they will be able to do so free of charge or at a reduced cost.
*With information from El País e Biodiversity LA.