Event information

3 April 2023, 15:30-17:00

UNDROP AND THE EU SEED MARKETING REFORM: PERSPECTIVES FROM BELGIUM

Event

EU flag before the European Commission Building EU flag before the European Commission Building

This webinar – held in English and French – aims to raise awareness of the upcoming reform of the European Union (EU) seed marketing legislation and to explore pathways to align it with the right to seeds recognized by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP).

UNDROP’s holistic approach to the right to seeds entails legislative changes at the EU and national levels in various policy fields. This webinar will focus on the impacts of rules that govern the marketing of seeds in the EU. These rules are currently undergoing a reform process, with an EU Commission proposal expected in June 2023. It will also look into what UNDROP and the EU reform mean in the Belgian context, and how positive aspects of the national legislation could input the reform or, alternatively, suffer from new and more restrictive rules at the EU level.

PROGRAMME

15:30–15:35: Welcome

 

15:35–15:45: UNDROP and the right to seeds: what obligations for the EU & its Member States?

  • Karine Peschard, Geneva Academy

15:45–16:00: UNDROP and the right to seeds: which links with EU seed marketing rules?

  • Fulya Batur, Geneva Academy and Kybele

16:00–16:45: Reactions and perspectives from Belgian stakeholders

  • Frank Adams, Master market gardener, artisan seed grower, education coordinator – SEED Luxembourg, Réseau Meuse Rhin Moselle (RMRM), Lycée Technique Agricole du Luxembourg
    ‘What role for local seeds in tomorrow’s food systems?’
  • Loes Mertens, Project manager for the seed, seedlings and potato sectors, Biowallonie ‘A perspective from the Belgian organic seed industry’
  • Vincent Delobel, Goat farmer, board member of Fédération unie de groupements d’éleveurs et d’agriculteurs-FUGEA (ECVC), Terres Vivantes and Ceinture alimentaire de Tournai. ‘The role of seeds in nurturing resourcefulness in action’

16:45– 17:00: Q&A

 

Background Information

For more background information on the relevant UNDROP provisions and their implementation, see the Practical Manual on the Right to Seeds in Europe and the shorter Research Brief published by the Geneva Academy.

Video

UNDROP and the EU Seed Marketing Reform: Perspectives from Belgium

This online workshop – held in English and French – discussed the upcoming reform of the European Union (EU) seed marketing legislation, what it means in the Belgian context, and how positive aspects of the national legislation could input the reform or, alternatively, suffer from new and more restrictive rules at the EU level.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Yemeni women live in the open after being displaced from their homes due to the war in Taiz News

New Publication Unpacks UN Human Rights Council's Potential Role in Preventing Climate-Induced Conflicts

29 January 2024

Our new Research Brief explores the potential role of the UN Human Rights Council as an actor in the prevention of climate-related conflicts, alongside other multilateral efforts within the UN system.

Read more

Forest from below News

New Publication Explores National Uptake of the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

25 March 2024

Our new Research Brief The Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment explores the national recognition of this human right.

Read more

Open dump Training

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

2-20 September 2024

Participants in this training course, made of two modules, will examine the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights and the environment, familiarizing themselves with the respective implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

Read more

Wheat field Project

The Right to Seeds in Europe

Started in January 2018

The project will notably identify the main opportunities and obstacles to protect the right to seeds in Europe. It will also discuss how to promote changes in European laws, policies and trade agreements to ensure that they do not infringe, but facilitate the realization of peasants’ right to seeds.

Read more

Cover Page of Research Brief Publication

Unpacking the Climate Migration Extremism Nexus Mapping the Coping Strategies of Kenyan Pastorialists

published on April 2024

Erica Harper, Yosuke Nagai

Read more

Cover Page of Research Brief Publication

Unpacking the Burgeoning Challenge of Environmental Protection and the Right to Food in the Context of Armed Conflict

published on April 2024

Erica Harper, Junli Lim

Read more