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EUROPEAN-SEED.COM I EUROPEAN SEED I 9 the prices and markets but increasing potential world food supply. In fact Noleppa adds a remarkable drop in arable production would have occurred across all arable crops w ithout plant breeding. Production losses would have been highest with sunflower seeds cereals and some oilseeds. Such initial production losses would certainly affect markets. International commodity prices would change and might set alternative incentives for domestic market supply and demand leading to changing monetary outcomes for farmers and consumers but also society as a whole. Social implications might be expected as well. Those include global malnutrition reduced r u r a l i ncome a nd reduced employment in the EU. Environmental Benefits Plant breeding contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissionsabout 3.4 billion tons of direct CO2 emissions were avoided in Europe thanks to plant breeding innovation over the last 15 years Noleppa found. Thats because due to plant breeding innovations the EU has been able to prevent natural habitat from being turned into farmland. All this land is sequestering carbon both above and below ground. A tremendous part of this carbon would be released into the atmosphere in the form of CO2 if that land was used for farming he says. Based on his research Noleppa also found that a lot of biodiversity would have been lost by neglecting plant breeding in the EU since the turn of the millennium on top of what has already been lost in terms of global species richness. This is equivalent to the biodiversity found in 6.6 million hectares of Brazilian rainforest and savannahs. Industry Support Seed industry stakeholders welcome the reports findings with European Seed Association secretary-general Garlich von Essen saying it shows the importance of plant breeding innovation for the EU itself as well as its contribution to achieving overarching policy objectives like food security environmental protection and biodiversity preservation. Now we have quantitative data that proves this. It should be seen as a call-to- action to policymakers to ensure both science- based policy as well as a supportive regulatory environment that fosters and drives future innovation von Essen says. In short this report shows that supporting plant breeding innovation is first and foremost a great investment in our economic as well as our societal future. Aleksandra Malyska executive manager for Belgium-based plant sector stakeholder forum Plants for the Future Plant ETP says the study will serve as an important tool for the industry. Plant ETP recently hosted an official launch event for the study involving members of the European Parliament and other stakeholders to discuss potential contributions of plant breeding to the European economy society and environment. Informing political debate on the importance of genetic crop improvement for environmental and socio-economic objectives through unbiased quantitative and qualitative data is a must she says. Such science-based information should be widely available and should be a starting point when discussing the future of plant breeding in the EU. Malyksa notes that the sentiment among European Parliament members was that plant breeding has a key role to play if the sector wants to help meet the challenge of feeding a growing world population. This report shows that supporting plant breeding innovation is first and foremost a great investment in our economic as well as our societal future. Garlich von Essen The full report can be accessed online at bit.doplantetp-HFFAResearch. We share Johans ambition to surprise consumers time after time Johan Solleveld comes from a tomato-growing family and has been involved in variety development at Rijk Zwaan for over 30years. Thanks to his extensive experience and to the fact that he really speaks the growers language heknows exactly what to look out for when selecting new tomatoes. Over the years Johan has gained an ever-greater appreciation of the tomatos versatility and potential. He knows that nature can sometimes have surprises in store and how important it is to remain open to the resulting opportunities. In close collaboration both with colleagues and customers he strives to make a valuable contribution to creating tasty new products every day. It is Johans ambition to surprise consumers time after time. Rijk Zwaan a global specialist in vegetable breeding - shares this ambition. We are working together towards a healthy future. Learn more at rijkzwaan.com 442262RZW_adv_Johan_181x129.indd 1 10-09-15 0754