b'A LIFE IN SEEDS:PIVI MANNERKORPI REFLECTS ON TWO DECADES OF EU LEADERSHIPRETIRING EU OFFICIAL ON SEED LAWS, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, AND EUROPESPLANT BREEDING FUTURE.BY: MARCEL BRUINSSEED WORLD EUROPE (SWE): WHAT INITIALLY WHY IT MATTERS DREW YOU TO THE WORLD OF SEEDS, AND For more thanHOW DID YOU END UP WORKING IN SEED 20 years, PiviLEGISLATION AT THE EU COMMISSION?Mannerkorpi hasPIVI MANNERKORPI (PM): Before joining the helped shape theEuropean Commission, I was in charge of a Unit European Unionson Plant Production and Animal Nutrition at the seed legislationMinistry of Agriculture in Finland and the EU leg-and plant varietyislation, including seeds, was our daily work. At the rights system Commission, after some years working on novel food work that underpinslegislation, I had a chance to return to agriculture the quality,when I was offered a position to lead the plant repro-innovation, andductive material sector. competitiveness of the EUs agriculturalSWE: OVER YOUR LONG CAREER, WHAT DO sector. As the worldYOU CONSIDER THE MOST SIGNIFICANT grapples withACHIEVEMENT(S) IN EU SEED LEGISLATION OR climate change,IN THE COMMUNITY PLANT VARIETY RIGHTS food security, andSYSTEM? Mannerkorpi has attended numerous UPOV meetings on biodiversity loss,PM: The most important aim of the seed legislationbehalf of the European Union.strong and forward- is to ensure the quality of seeds to farmers. The plant looking seed lawsvariety rights legislation aims to incentivise and pro-are more importanttect innovation in plant breeding. The EU seed sector than ever. Withis leading in the world, and I believe that the legisla-Mannerkorpi nowtive framework and systems in place have contributed stepping intoto this. I also believe that the EU legislation and theMember States and the various requests to submit retirement, hersystems in place have set standards that influencean amended/new proposal. There were many reasons reflections offer aseed laws and plant variety rights systems globally.for the negative opinion of the European Parliament. rare window intoMoreover, the openings made to some smaller scaleWe have all understood that it is not only about tech-the past, present,activities (e.g. conservation varieties, preservationnical quality matters on seeds but also about private and future ofmixtures) have had a positive impact on agrobiodi- gardens, seed collections, food on your plate (public plant reproductiveversity over the years and supported the conservationperception) and what kind of agriculture one prefers. material policyof genetic resources and their sustainable use. It is of outmost importance that diverse stakeholderand the global interests, including those of breeders, farmers and impact of EuropesSWE: WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGESNGOs need to be reconciled in the legislative process regulatoryYOU FACED IN SHAPING EU SEED LEGISLA aimed at building consensus, making the legislation leadership. TION, AND HOW DID YOU NAVIGATE THESEmore robust and widely accepted. The Parliament CHALLENGES? (Committee of Agriculture) is well informed. So, it PM: Clearly the developments in 2014 in relationwas at the time a lost opportunity, but we are now to the proposal on plant reproductive material wereback 10 years later and better equipped, in particular challenging. This resulted in a withdrawal of theby carefully addressing the issues under discussion proposal despite the good discussions among theat the time. 6ISEED WORLD EUROPEISEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | SEPTEMBER 2025'