Plant breeding - why we need organic open pollinated seeds

The quality of a plant is rooted in its seed, literally: high quality, organic seeds are the basis for good yields of healthy crops. It’s the basis for good food, because we are what we eat.

Organic plant breeding is different. Breeding organic is based on respect for life and trust in natural cycles.

Today a few multinational companies dominate the world seed market. They sell high yielding varieties developed in company laboratories, often by applying chemicals or through genetic manipulation. While the external parameters of such varieties look good, structurally these plants are weak. Even the seeds from a first harvest are not good enough to be saved for the next season - which means that the farmers are forced to purchase fresh seed year after year. And by applying for patents the multinationals are trying (and often succeeding) to secure exclusive ownership of plant varieties with the aim to prevent farmers and market gardeners from using saved seed from their own harvests. Patents and patent applications create a situation of legal uncertainty. It’s a development that will ultimately threaten world food security. That’s why we breed organic open pollinated seeds – available to everyone who wants to grow good food.

Education - sharing knowledge with others

In plant breeding you learn your lessons. We pass knowledge on because we want to encourage farmers and gardeners to start breeding their own varieties and to make a success of it. We work and co-operate with many other likeminded organisations. We engage, teach and speak publicly about what we do and how we do it. If every farmer were to improve just one variety through breeding we would soon have a real choice of new, healthy, well adapted, high yielding open pollinated varieties.

Raising awareness - explaining to anyone who eats what’s what and why the difference matters

What is open pollinated? What is a sterile hybrid? And why does it matter? We try to inform and raise awareness: The issue of breeding concerns YOU as much as it does us because what we harvest will become the food on YOUR plate. If we can’t do our job you will have less and less choice. Agrochemical companies dominate the seed market with a ‘one size fits all’ approach: it’s more profitable to sell large quantities of a very limited number of varieties. Only through breeding lots of healthy, well adapted, tasty, nutritious, high yielding open pollinated varieties (breathe here!) will we be able to adapt to the challenges of climate change and keep wholesome food on YOUR plate.