Work Areas

 

Our Platform gets its most substantive work done through Working Groups.

• Intellectual Property & Breeders/Farmers’ Rights – Policy and advocacy to protect farmers rights to save and trade seed; viable economies for breeders, entrepreneurs, and seed companies
• Controlling Genetic Engineering – Policy advocacy, messaging, risk assessment, and training to minimize negative impacts of genetic engineering on biodiversity and genetic resources

• Developing a Global Research Agenda – Addressing common global challenges; developing and sharing solutions; succession planning for the next generations of seeds and people

• Deepening Organic Breeding Standards/Guidelines – Defining and improving practices; global guidelines, local/regional contexts

• Trading & Markets – Value chain integration and interdependence; digital platforms; consumer campaigns

 

Collectively, our Working Groups have agreed we should undertake the following:

• An intervention letter to EU Trilogue and other national governments on regulating NGTs, promoting our NGT Risk Protocol as a workable solution.

• A global position paper on seeds and other reproductive material, to cover the full spectrum of opinions and needs within our movement

• Revision, deepening of norms and standards for breeding

• Establishing an online directory for seeds and breeds (to keep them in the commons): Library of underutilized species, and of varieties available and/or developed through compatible breeding methods. Creating APIs with other such databases. Codes for governance of seed repositories. Guidelines for stewardship and preservation.

• Creating a compendium of national laws and policies in place (or under consideration) that facilitate trading and access to seeds and related genetic resources

• Establishing SeedLinked projects in select countries

• Building a compendium market success examples; associated learning exchanges

• Campaign of interdependence: enlistment of downstream value chain actors who pledge/demonstrate benefit sharing partnership back upstream

• Dissemination of common advocacy messages/talking points on NGTs and genetic engineering

• Expanding our Directory listings over a full spectrum of possible interests and connections (If you are reading this and haven’t made at least one listing, please do!

Also in our sights:

• Making further improvements to our website
• Translation of IFOAM Position Papers on seeds, breeding, and GMOs into multiple languages
• Facilitation of coordinated research projects among Platform members across the globe and cross-country learning on policy and research

In addition to global working groups, the Seeds Platform helps develop and facilitate national working groups.

Interested in joining one of our working groups or forming a national one? Contact us! seeds@ifoam.bio