b"AIMING FOR MISSION ZEROHOW SEED APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES PROVIDE A STRONG CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITYBY: MARCEL BRUINS LENGTHY REGULATORYassociation Plantum in their interaction WHY IT MATTERS APPROVAL with the authorities.The European Green Deal is aThe goals in F2F are very ambitious, but set of policy initiatives whichBartels sees them as a challenge rather thanLEGISLATION TRIGGERING seeks to address the challengesa threat. As a sector, we should be open toCHANGEof sustainable food systems. Thechange and work hard to be part of the solu- In the European Union, regulations are Commission aims to reduce bytion. He shares that putting regulation inbeing put into place to decrease the amount half a) the overall use and risk ofplace to facilitate innovation should be OK.of microplastics in seed applied technolo-chemical pesticides and the useBut at the same time, authorities shouldgies. The immediate response of compa-of more hazardous pesticides.fast-track the approval process for morenies is often a defensive one, not willing It also seeks to reduce nutrientenvironmentally beneficial alternatives. Ito embrace the opportunity that such a losses by at least 50 per centthink this can be improved. What I see inchange can offer. Bartels says that his while ensuring no deterioration inthe Netherlands is that the approval by thecompany quickly realised it was better to soil fertility. And the Commissionrelevant governmental bodies to approvestart developing alternatives and be fast to hopes that this will reduce thebiological or environmentally friendly prod- market with a more environmental solution. use of fertilisers by at least 20ucts is slow, he says. It can take years toBecause of the legislative change, we have per cent. And finally, it also wantsget approval for a new biological seed treat- developed a good range of microplastic-free to arrive at a quarter of the EUsment. Dobrowolska-Haywood concurs,products and secured customers approvals agricultural land under organicstating that from the moment they developalready. For me, this is a good example farming. This will have majorall the data, it is at least two to three yearswhere legislation triggers a change, and the impacts on Europes plant breedingof waiting for the registration.industry picked it up. and sector, including in the fieldFor his company, Bartels shares that of seed applied technologies. Tosustainability is at the heart of their strat- COMBINING SEED APPLIED see what kind of an impact thisegy. We are working on the application andTECHNOLOGIES WITH ORGANIC has on one of those companies,delivery of biologicals on seeds. We haveAGRICULTUREEuropean Seed some great recipes developed but can't applyThe F2F strategy has a strong focus onspoke with Erik Jan Bartels, Managing Director and Dr.them because those beneficial microbialsorganic agriculture and aims to have at least Marta Dobrowolska-Haywood, R&Dare not approved yet. In certain cases, we25 per cent of the EUs agricultural land Manager, both at Incotec, aboutare using food ingredients, products alreadyunder organic farming by 2030. The ques-the work their company is doingapproved for human consumption. But alsotion is whether seed applied technologies towards these goals, and makinghere, seed application requires a separatecan be combined with organic agriculture. agriculture more sustainable. approval process, taking a lot of time.According to Dobrowolska-Haywood it is The slow and difficult decision-mak- certainly possible. We have facilities in ing process is also a topic of the Dutch seedboth Europe and North America, currently 6IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM"