b'BRUSSELS SPROUTSBY: CSAR GONZLEZTHINKING OVER SUSTAINABILITYT wo and a half years after the pub- drafts in May 20223 based on its politi- Extensive literature review shows how lication of the Commissions com- cal priorities. By examining the Nationalplant breeding, and the seed sector at munication on the Farm to ForkStrategic Plans with the lens of the Farmlarge are behind most of the produc-and the Biodiversity strategies, and theto Fork and the Biodiversity strategies,tivity and sustainability gains of the embodiment of sustainability as thethe Commission did further increase anEuropean agriculture for the past dec-Commissions flagship for this mandate,already established trend of higher envi- ades6. Therefore, an enabling regulatory it is time to talk substance about itsronmental requirements (i.e., pushingframework for plant breeding is needed meaning. for an arbitrary 25 per cent organic landto continue contributing to these goals in Already in 2021, a good number ofby 2030). Lets not forget that the twothe coming future. Breeders have innova-studies and reports1 showed that the fullprincipal objectives of the CAP are: 1)tive and technological tools at their hands application of the measures contained into support farmers to make a reasonablethat could help balancing the equation, both strategies would imply higher agri- living; and 2) to ensure food security andbut to do that, they need political will-food production costs and less productionaffordability4. The derogations issued thisingness and long-term certainty.in the EU. Meanwhile, inflation, highersummer for some of the main provisionsWe all know that sustainability is production costs (gas, fertilisers) andwithin the CAP show that it might not bea complex issue, and I dont believe it the markets disruption due to the war infit for purpose in the current times. is really the Commissions intention to Ukraine have added a new dimension ofRegarding the Commissions pro- increase administrative burden and uncertainty for EU agri-food producers.posal on the Sustainable Use of Plantreduce yields as if nothing had changed Not to mention the severe droughts inProtection Products, it is worth mention- in Europe since March 2022. I also believe several parts of Europe this summer. Iting that the impact assessment clearlythat sustainability is not a goal per se but is not by chance that food security hasidentified that production costs per unita moving target in relation to other things climbed up from an almost forgottenwill increase due to higher administrative(i.e., production) and that food sustaina-topic in the EU to the highest politicalburden and lower yields5. Moreover, thebility should not come at the expense of arena2, making even more relevant thepositive effects of using more resistant/ food security (physical access and price) leave no one behind principle of thetolerant varieties or seed treatment asor food safety.European Green Deal. possible ways to reduce the use of pes- I also believe that it is fair to aim for In this context, business as usualticides are not fully harnessed in theimproved sustainability in the agri-food seems not to be the right way forward.proposal. On top of that, a complete banchain and to set ambitious political tar-Yet, the recent developments around theof pesticide use in sensitive areas wouldgets to achieve this goal. What requires Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) andhave a very negative impact on breedinga more thorough assessment is the how. the Sustainable Use of Plant Protectionand clean seed production, thus hinderingAnd there, science-based decisions have Products Regulation indicate how diffi- farmers efforts to reduce pesticide use. traditionally proven to be the best way cult it is to change a deep-rooted politicalThe Commission has in the pipelineto address complex challenges. That is trend. two new legislative initiatives for 2023why, if we want to succeed in our goal, we By the end of 2022, the Commissionthat will feature the crop varieties that(stakeholders, policymakers, NGOs) need has to give the green light to the differ- will arrive to the market in the medi- to change the direction of travel and (re)ent National Strategic Plans of the CAPum-long term, thus having a major effectthink over sustainability. (the actual implementation of the CAP).on breeders and farmers: the revision To that end, the Commission made someof the Seed Marketing Directives and aCsar Gonzlez is Manager Public remarks and recommendations to theproposal on New Genomic Techniques.Affairs at Euroseeds1https://euroseeds.eu/news/farm-to-fork-it-is-time-to-listen-to-what-the-data-says/2Council declaration in Versailles; European Parliament resolution on the need for an urgent EU action plan to ensure food security3Commission observation letters on CAP strategic plans4Treaty of the functioning of the EU5Page 13, Commissions proposal for a regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products6 HFFA Research The socio-economic and environmental values of plant breeding in the EU and for selected EU member states34IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'