Pilot project to clampdown on illegal seed use

BREEDERS Trust, an organisation of 12 seed potato breeding companies from Germany, the Netherlands, France, Scotland and Denmark, has launched an international pilot project which will aim to counter the illegal use of farm-saved seed (FSS) and make it easier for breeders to be compensated.

The new project is called PBR Database and its key objective is to check whether the system works in practice and is understood by chain partners, as well as testing the algorithm. The six countries participating in the pilot are the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and Luxembourg. 

"Each potato breeder has the right to protect his/her variety by Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) in order to manage and control its seed multiplication and to ensure collection of Farm Saved Seed royalties," Breeders Trust said in its announcement of the new project. "In that regard, the affiliated breeders require anyone who trades in his/her protected variety to report upon request, how much and to whom, which variety is being marketed. By uploading the required data into a secured PBR database, the authorized Royalty Collection Organisations (RCOs) get a complete picture of the potential Farm Saved Seeds users."

Breeders Trust has developed an automated, algorithm-driven database which allows traceability from source to end-user, ie from breeder to grower. This should lead to efficient enforcement and collection of royalties where the use of FSS is concerned.

All affiliated breeders will participate in ‘Central PBR database 2022-2023’.

Shareholders supporting the PBR Database project include Agrico, Danespo, Europlant, Germicopa, HZPC, Interseed, Meijer Potato, Norika, Schaap Holland, Solana and Stet Holland. 

Source: Breeders Trust