Certified seed is the essence of the work of the seed industry. At the same time, it is a fundamental added value for all food production chains.
In Italy the certification is provided by CREA-DC, a ministerial body, with tests that take place over a long period of time. It starts with inspections in the field where the seed is produced, moving on to laboratory tests, and finally to checks during the processing phases in the factories. The post-control is carried out annually, as a further verification of the conformity of the batches intended for marketing. This process guarantees the quality standards required by law on physical and varietal purity, identity, germination and absence of pathogens.
Certified seeds, having undergone extensive quality controls, represent a crucial technical asset. They ensure high quality, economic efficiency, legal compliance, traceability, and innovation, as commercial proceeds fund varietal research.
All this has a positive impact on the entire supply chain, from farmers, to traders, to food industry, up to large-scale distribution and, ultimately, consumers.
An Approach to Improve
Despite the undeniable advantages, now generally recognized, the impact of certified seed on the market is still partial and unsatisfactory. In Italy it ranges from 65 per cent of common wheat, to 60 per cent of soybeans and rice and just 50 per cent of durum wheat and alfalfa. In the rest of Europe, the situation is more or less the same, with usage percentages ranging from 30 to 80 per cent. Therefore, a large portion of agricultural production is made starting from non-certified seeds, that means not controlled and not guaranteed, prepared in an approximate and generally non-professional way. Often it is illegal seed, therefore at risk of legal actions for violations of seed laws and/or tax regulations. In any case, these crops do not allow any traceability and preclude access to incentives such as the “durum wheat fund”, reserved for Italian farmers who stipulate supply chain contracts lasting at least three years and use certified seed.
So why this choice? Many farmers delude themselves into saving money. In fact, in the best-case scenario, the lowest cost is just over 20 euros per hectare; a small and only apparent gain, if we consider all the shortcomings of non-certified seed.
This is an obsolete and non-competitive way of operating. The European Green Deal, considering its objectives and strategies, requires working with high professionalism and therefore with high quality technical means, such as certified seed. In this sense, the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies has implemented a proposal — presented by Italy’s seed association Assosementi, and in the new Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027 — has established that, from 2024 sowing, to obtain the coupled payment envisaged in Italy for durum wheat, rice, soybeans, oilseeds, tomato for industry, legumes and sugar beet, the use of certified seed is required. A step forward for Italian agriculture.
The Consumer is Key
The real leap in quality will occur when farmers’ choice is not conditioned by a regulation, but by the market. From this perspective, the determining element will be the consumer. Today more than ever “consumer is king”. It is the consumer who dictates market dynamics and guides company strategies. If some captions, such as “Produced from 100 per cent Italian wheat”, or “From organic (or integrated) agriculture”, or even “Without palm oil”, increasingly present on packaging of various foodstuffs, are considered strategic, tomorrow it could become “Produced from certified seed”. It is about communicating to the consumer that certified seed represents an important advantage, which guarantees, among other things, the health of the food, its origin, its production in a legal and ethical way. These values are strongly requested and sought in food by European citizens, as attested by authoritative surveys such as Eurobarometer 2022-Food safety in the EU.
It’s about providing correct and effective information which, if finally received by the consumer, will be able to positively influence the choices of the entire supply chain.
A decisive challenge for the seed sector, in Europe and throughout the world.
Franco Brazzabeni is 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.
