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Switzerland | Illegal Seeds – Really?

“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 the Swiss constitution, such as safeguarding the environment, landscape and local economy. By Anton Vos. […]

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Climate Crisis | EU Agriculture Needs Systemic Solutions, Not New GM Technology

As the debate around genetically-modified “super crops” heats up, tried-and-tested solutions to tackling the climate crisis are in danger of being left out in the cold. Any deregulation of new GMOs threatens to undermine diverse and self-determined approaches to seed and food production that enhance biodiversity and soil health, and strengthen the resilience of entire agro-ecosystems, argues Stefanie Hundsdorfer. […]

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Does peasantry pay the price for a more European Turkey?

By Asutay Meriç, Agrobiodiversity Campaign Intern at Eco Ruralis Following a contentious and  controversial election in Turkey politicians seem to continuously highlight that Turkey is Europe’s first and the World’s 7th largest agricultural producer. Roughly 80% of the hazelnut production, and most  of the fruit and veg that is exported into the EU comes from Turkey. These figures sound impressive. However, for the last decade Turkish peasantry which holds nearly two-thirds of the Turkish farms has been the poorest segment of the society. Their political, economical and cultural rights are constantly violated by the ruling Government itself. According to the Turkish National Institute of Statistics (TNIS) (pdf), agriculture makes up 8,4% of the national income and 25 % of the employment. Its 38.6 million hectares of utilized agricultural land has a segmented structure where an average plot size has around 5 hectares. Turkey, an EU candidate country for more than 15 years, has a very large utilized agricultural areas compared to other European countries. Having such a strong rural base, the country has always been […]