From 13-15 October Euroseeds held its 2019 Congress in Stockholm, Sweden. This year’s event set a new record of presence, with an attendance of more than 1100 participants from almost 50 countries across the world. And for the first time this year, the new name, branding and logo of Euroseeds were showcased.
During the meetings of the specific crop sections, participants got updates and detailed information on many horizontal and crop-specific issues important for seed companies in Europe and worldwide such as:
- The state of play of plant breeding and agriculture in general in Sweden;
- Facilitating the international movement of seed: latest developments at OECD;
- How scenario planning can help shape successful future research strategies;
- An overview on the European Protein Plan in the global oilseeds’ context;
- How the CPVO is changing its approach to public requests on breeding scheme information;
- Lessons learnt from the blockchain pilot projects in the food industry sector;
- The EU Plant Health Regulation– a guide through the labyrinth;
EU’s policies in between the seed treatment guidance document and microplastics’ restriction; - Plant Intellectual Property from a retailer’s perspective;
Production without protection? Is Europe demanding the impossible?.
Participants also had the chance to assist in very inspiring and insightful talks and debates on the following topics:
- Exploring the options to consolidate and update the EU seed legislation, with an engaging panel debate with representatives from the European Commission, CPVO, CREA, Euroseeds;
- Plant breeding innovation: science and practice of acceptance policy and communication engagement with contributions from Prof. Daniel Barben, University of Klagenfurth and Jon Entine, Founder and Executive Director of Genetic Literacy Project.
Moreover, as every year, large trade and exhibition facilities provided ample space for professional exchanges and interactions of participants, and exposure for companies showcasing the latest developments in technical equipment, mechanical components, processing technologies and plant breeding software.
This year, ahead of the congress, Euroseeds also organised a one and half day workshop with their national association members to specifically address the membership engagement and enhance members’ collaboration with Euroseeds. Crucial attention is paid to the importance of all our national association members for their potential outreach and advocacy work at Member State level. The workshop allowed to reach fruitful discussions and further plans for increased collaborative efforts.
For more information:
Euroseeds
www.euroseeds.eu