Euroseeds welcomes the publication of the European Commission’s new Bioeconomy Strategy and its ambition to scale up innovation and investment in sustainable bio-based solutions, strengthen the competitiveness of the EU bioeconomy and reduce regulatory barriers.
Standing at the very beginning of bio-based value chains, the plant breeding sector is a strategic enabler of the bioeconomy, providing diverse and improved plant varieties that underpin resilient, climate-change adapted farming, sustainable yield increases and the high-quality feedstock varieties required by Europe’s bio-based industries to produce biomass. Therefore, we regret that the specific contribution of the seed and plant breeding sector is not explicitly reflected.
To fully realise the Strategy’s vision for 2040, Euroseeds calls on the Commission to systematically include the plant breeding sector at the beginning of the biomass value chain and accompany this consistently within the Bioeconomy Acts, the EU framework programme and European Competitiveness Fund to empower the sector to deliver innovative solutions for the bioeconomy.
Only by firmly anchoring plant breeding in the implementation of the Bioeconomy Strategy can Europe secure a sustainable biomass supply and strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy in bio-based value chains. Euroseeds remains committed to contributing constructively to the development of the Bioeconomy Strategy and looks forward to continued dialogue with the European Commission and European Bodies to ensure that the strategy reflects the needs and potential of the European plant breeding and seed sector.
