32 I SEED WORLD EUROPE I SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | MAY 2026 SEEDS: TIME FOR CHANGE — PRM AND THE WIDER CONTEXT BY: FRANCO BRAZZABENI FRANCO'S AGRI NOTES T he EU has decided to provide the seed sector with a new, updated law, although it has not yet fully decided how. Discussions have been ongoing since 3 February 2026, when the trilogue opened on the new European regulation on Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) [proposal COM (2023) 414], based on a Council posi tion agreed in December 2025, which in turn incorporated a Commission proposal from July 2023. The underlying objectives are to protect biodiversity, ensure food secu rity, and improve traceability, with seeds at the centre. Opinions on how to proceed are diverse and in some cases conflicting. PRM refers to seeds, cuttings, trees, roots, tubers, etc., used for the reproduc tion of other plants. It concerns the fair production and trade of seeds and other plant reproductive material within the EU Member States. The new regulation intends to revise, update, and modernize laws dating back to the 1960s and subsequent amendments. Around 10 directives are to be harmonized and consolidated into a single text, with a view to increased sustainability, digitaliza tion, and a reduction of administrative bur dens. Key aspects include more rigorous and climate adapted registration for commercial seeds, while also allowing exemptions for forest reproductive material, ornamental plants, PRM exported to third countries, and traditional local varieties. It will not cover certain categories, including heterogeneous biological material and seeds and plants used for official testing and scientific purposes. AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT The objectives to be achieved, summa rized below, are various and concern many aspects of the seed industry. • Establish a set of rules applicable across all EU countries, standardizing implemen tation and ensuring equal conditions for all, while simultaneously reducing admin istrative burdens. This would represent a necessary operational simplification. • Support scientific and technological pro gress, enabling the use of the most recent biomolecular and breeding techniques, not covered by the previous legislation. This is a key point, reflecting the desired openness to new genetic improvement technologies and consequently, ensure the availability of high-quality genetic mate rial, in line with the needs of modern agri culture, particularly with regard to adverse biotic and abiotic factors. Significant pro gress has been made recently, but final approval is still hindered by some sectors, such as organic agriculture and certain environmental associations. • Ensure food security by safeguarding genetic resources and protecting biodi versity, with a focus on conservation vari eties and organic farming. This is another hot topic, potentially leading to conflicts of interest and operational complications, and it runs counter to the simplifying phi losophy of the new regulation. CONFIRMATIONS AND CHANGES The two cornerstones of current legislation, the registration of varieties in the national and European registers and seed certifica tion, will remain unchanged. Efforts will be made to streamline the process and make it less cumbersome and bureaucratic. New provisions are planned regarding deroga tions for seeds intended for non-professional use and for seed exchanges between farm ers, which will be reviewed after five years. O n t h e o n e h a n d , t h e E U Commission's proposal is based on laudable intentions and concepts that are certainly welcome, such as the harmonization and the streamlining of previous regulations. It also presents potential improvements to operations, such as the accreditation of interested parties. On the other hand, the derogations introduced are raising considerable alarm and concern among seed companies. These include, for example, the possibility of seed exchanges between farmers, the recog nition of heterogeneous material beyond the organic sector, and the registration of conservation varieties. The fact that these contexts are essentially excluded from the new regulation, or moved to a simplified regime, creates the risk of circumventing the rules and opening the door to potential illegality and, in some cases, uncontrolled competition. The seed sector has always taken the utmost care in controlling and identifying reproductive material, to safeguard farmers and the entire supply chain. Moreover, some pillars of the new framework, such as the traceability of food and plant health, are impossible to achieve without starting from certified, controlled material, whether seed or other reproduc tive material. The critical point of the emerging leg islation is the attempt to make wide-rang ing concerns coexist within the same text, such as professional agriculture and food security on the one hand, and specific niche interests on the other. The former must be given priority, given their social and economic importance, without neglecting environmentalist and particularist needs and expectations and, at the same time, without the latter prevailing over the former. These priorities could conflict with one another, risking damage to entities that invest millions of euros in research and marketing. Ultimately, the damage would fall across the entire production chain, from farmers and consumers. Franco Brazzabeni is a commercial and marketing consultant in the international agribusiness, Member of the Board of Assosementi and of ISF Groups and writes a blog on www.agrinotes.it.
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