An action project to document and experience cultivated biodiversity
Seeds are foundational for farming, and are core to a food and agricultural transition that respects people and the planet.
And yet, we have lost so much. To date, and following more than sixty years of restrictive legislation on the marketing and use of seeds at the European level, a very limited number of plant varieties and breeding materials are allowed to be placed on the market.
These approved seeds may ostensibly be high-yielding, but they come with other considerations too.
We have seen a growing dependence of farmers, market and amateur gardeners on the seed-and-pesticides industry, a reliance which threatens deep food security and food sovereignty, while causing a radical erosion of crop diversity in our fields and on our plates.
As part of its commitment to supporting rural resilience and agrobiodiversity on the ground and at policy level, the Agricultural and Rural Convention has taken on the development of the Seeds4All project, spotlighting and exploring solutions to agrobiodiversity issues.
Seeds4All amplifies voices and connects people and initiatives intimately involved in agroecological seed production at all levels: this includes the cultivation, exchange, marketing and use of traditional and new public domain, freely reproducible and non-GM seed varieties.
By spending time with people in places, by listening and learning, we work to identify and share the experiences and expectations of field operators, showcasing the beauty and benefits of increasing resilient crop varieties, and providing spaces for peer learning, experimentation and sensitisation.
Our aim with Seeds4All is to help strengthen a very much needed transition regarding seed conservation and development practices, thus improving access to agrobiodiversity for a wider range of users and eaters.
Join us on this journey around Europe, as we delve into the wonderful world of agroecological seeds in all their meaning, manifestations and magic.
To get involved, send a message to project coordinator Adèle Pautrat or visit the dedicated project's website.
Inaugurating the 2023 programme of field visits, Adèle Pautrat, coordinator of the Seeds4all project, and Hannes Lorenzen, President of the ARC2020 association, travelled to Belgrade, Serbia, in February and met several members of the Balkan [...]
From re-enchanting pride for local crops and know-how to real world solutions to help relocate historical production sectors, Adèle explored from different angles how best to instil self-sufficiency and resilience in rural territories. Throughout the [...]
If we all agree to take back the power over our food, what do we need? Helping to frame the discussion at the Global Bean Seed Festival, Xavier Hamon, artisan cook and partner of the [...]
In preparation of the Commission’s expected proposal for a new seed marketing legislation on June 7th, here we republish with permission an excerpt from the recent Arche Noah report called EU reform of seeds marketing [...]
In preparation of the Commission’s expected proposal for a new seed marketing legislation on June 7th, MEP Sarah Wiener and MEP Martin Häusling called a conference to discuss what is a just transition to agroecology. [...]
How are a new generation of French winegrowers responding to the extreme temperatures and droughts becoming more pronounced in recent years? This summer, Adèle Pautrat visited Sainte Marie des Crozes, an organic and biodynamic Domaine [...]
“The seeds regulation is unconstitutional.” A thesis from the University of Geneva’s Faculty of Law demonstrates that the system that decides which plant varieties can be sold in Switzerland contradicts other objectives of agriculture under [...]
Seeds for hope were sown this summer at the Seeds4all seminar, when cereal farmers and breeders from several countries gathered on the island of Pellworm in July to discuss the future of local organic seed [...]
Seeds4All is dedicated to seed diversity, and it aims 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, [...]