b'A THREAT TO EUROPES FOOD SECURITYINSIGHTS ON HOW TO SECURE SEED PRODUCTION IN THE EU.BY: MARCEL BRUINSWHY IT MATTERS R ising costs, environmental shifts, and stringent policies are converging to create an increas-Seed productioningly precarious situation for producers. To is the process ofbetter understand the root causes and potential solu-cultivating plantstions, Seed World Europe turned to Serhii Komar, specifically forSeed Production and Supply Manager at Arimax the purpose ofSeed Technologies DOO in Serbia. Drawing from harvesting seeds,his expertise, Komar shared detailed insights using which then servecorn and sunflower seed production as examples.as the foundation for growing crops.SEED WORLD EUROPE: SERHII, WHY IS SECUR-It is a criticalING SEED PRODUCTION BECOMING SUCH A component ofCRITICAL ISSUE TODAY?European andSERHII KOMAR (SK): Seed production in Europe global agricultureis becoming more expensive and less reliable every and horticulture,year. Despite higher production costs, the reliability ensuring foodof supply has not improved. Yield estimates often fall security andshort of demand, leaving customers without prom-enabling theised products. This is a major challenge for producersSerhii Komar, Seed Production and Supply Manager at development oftrying to balance cost, quality, and delivery timelines. Arimax Seed Technologies DOO.high-yield, disease-resistant, andSWE: LETS DIVE INTO THE DETAILS. WHAT ARE climate-adaptedTHE MAIN FACTORS AFFECTING SEED PRO- workers continue to become more stringent. Finally, crops. In Europe,DUCTION RELIABILITY? insurance outlays have skyrocketed due to frequent this processSK: There are three main categories of challenges:force majeure events like storms and hail. The cost of faces increasingincreasing costs, environmental pressures, and reg- insuring a hectare of land can now reach up to 300.challengesulatory and economic issues.that threatenSpeaking of the costs, they have been risingSWE: BEYOND COSTS, HOW ARE ENVIRON-its efficiency,across multiple areas, putting significant pressure onMENTAL CHANGES IMPACTING SEED PRODUC-reliability, andseed producers. First, some land leasing companiesTION?profitability makingare fetching unreasonably high prices per hectare.SK: Environmental factors are among the most it essential toThis is caused by high demand from seed companiesunpredictable and impactful challenges. One of the address thesefor favourable land and growers. Second, essentialprimary factors is heat stress. Hot weather during issues for theinputs like fertilizer, crop protection products, fuel,pollination can significantly reduce yields, even for sustainability of theelectricity, and gas are becoming more expensive. Ithealthy-looking crops. In some cases, irrigation helps, agricultural sector. means that overall production costs are increasingbut its not always enough. For example, in 2024, considerably.average seed corn yields were heavily impacted by Another challenge is related to growing labourweather, especially compared to the more favorable costs. Fieldwork often requires physical labour, butconditions in 2023, which had regular rains and mod-fewer people are available for these roles. Obviously,erate temperatures. a limited choice of candidates makes companies offerAnother problem comes with limited irrigation competitive salaries, putting an additional load oninfrastructure. Corn requires around 400 millime-the budget. It should be also noted that relying ontres of water to achieve optimal yields, but Europes seasonal workers comes with its own challenges asirrigation infrastructure is not equipped to provide safety and quality management requirements forthis. In many regions, irrigation can only supplement 12ISEED WORLD EUROPEISEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | FEBRUARY 2025'