''Euroseeds'' is a

non-profit association A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

for the

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

industry in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...

. An umbrella organization of national seed associations and individual

seed companies Seed companies produce and sell seeds for flowers, fruits and vegetables to commercial growers and amateur gardeners. The production of seed is a multibillion-dollar business, which uses growing facilities and growing locations worldwide. While ...

, their members represent all aspects of the European seed industry including research,

plant breeding Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce cro ...

, and the production and

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

of seeds of agricultural, horticultural and ornamental plant species. It was founded in November 2000 and was granted the legal status of international non-profit International Association (AISBL) according to

Belgian law The legal system of Belgium is based on the Napoleonic code. The Napoleonic code is the French civil code which was issued between 1804 and 1810. It clearly presents the French legal system. Belgium’s constitution is influenced by earlier const ...

in April 2002. Its headquarters are located in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium.

History

Following increasing inter-organizational cooperation begun in 1998, four separate European seed

trade associations A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partici ...

were merged into a single organization, at that time ESA, in 2000. They were COSEMCO (seed trade, founded in 1961), ASSOPOMAC (potato breeders, founded in 1964), AMUFOC (

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

seed production, founded in 1970) and COMASSO (plant breeders, founded in 1977).

Functions and scope of activities

According to the Euroseeds'

mission statement A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operation ...

, it is "the voice of the European seed industry and represents companies and national organisations active in research, breeding, production and marketing of seeds of agricultural, horticultural and ornamental plant species." Euroseeds serves as a

lobby group In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

for all seed industry-related issues in the European Union and European Economic Area and specifically on: * Seed marketing * Plant breeding *

Intellectual property right Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

s such as plant breeders's rights and

biotech Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

patents * Plant and seed health such as phytosanitary rules and seed treatments *

Biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

and access to genetic resources * Land use and food production * Competitiveness of the EU agri-food chain It also works on collective problems of its membership such as market access in other countries. Euroseeds represents the European seed industry via the European institutions (

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

) as well as the EU's

Community Plant Variety Office The Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) is an agency of the European Union, located in Angers, France. It was established in 1994. Its task is to administer a system of plant variety rights, also known as plant breeders' rights, a form of intel ...

(CPVO) and numerous European and international bodies and organisations.

Observer status

Euroseeds has been granted observer status with the following organizations: * International Seed Federation (ISF) *

International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants or UPOV (french: link=no, Union internationale pour la protection des obtentions végétales) is a treaty body (non-United Nations intergovernmental organization) with headquar ...

(UPOV) *

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

(OECD) * International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) *

International Plant Protection Convention The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is a 1951 multilateral treaty overseen by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization that aims to secure coordinated, effective action to prevent and to control the introduction and ...

(IPPC) *

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO)

Events

Each year in October, Euroseeds holds its Congress which is attended by around 900 participants from industry as well as policy makers, representatives of the European Commission, the EU's Community Plant Variety Office, and international organizations such as UPOV, FAO OECD, the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA).

Membership

Euroseeds represents over 100 members out of which 34 are national seed associations from EU Members States and the wider Europe. Next to these association members, Euroseeds' membership also comprises 67 individual direct company members, both multi-national as well as specialised small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and 33 associate members from seed related industries, media and academia and from outside of Europe.

Euroseeds presidents

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.euroseeds.eu/, Euroseeds official website
Euroseeds 2020 Congress website
Pan-European trade and professional organizations Agricultural organisations based in Belgium Seed associations Organizations established in 2000