DEFRA stops funding organic seed trials and tells firms to fund their own research

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has stopped funding organic vegetable and potato seed performance trials saying it was time for organic firms to fund their own trials, a move which the Soil Association (SA) claimed would put the organic sector in jeopardy.

“Ten years ago when we were supporting this pioneering sector, there weren’t really other people willing to invest,” said a DEFRA spokesman. “Now, as food sectors begin to see the importance of organic produce, it is up to organic businesses to start to invest.”

He claimed that green issues had taken over as DEFRA's key research focus. “DEFRA priorities for farming and food are in promoting environmental sustainability,” he said.

But he added that there was plenty of scope for organic businesses to continue growing the market. “There is now much that the farming industry itself can do to deliver the necessary profitability in the marketplace and contribute to the overall goals. The long run of vegetable and potato trialling has given a very good picture of the suitability of established varieties for organic systems, which the industry can now build on to satisfy expanding market requirements,” he said.

The SA claimed that DEFRA’s decision to stop funding threatened the future of the organic sector. “A lack of trials could lead growers to lose confidence in organic seed varieties and potentially lead to an increase in derogations to use non-organic seeds,” said Ben Raskin, SA supply chain and technical team manager.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) was equally concerned. "In order for growers to have the confidence in new seed varieties, information must be made available on their yields and performance,” said Paul Temple, National Farmers Union vice president.

“For the organic sector to continue to develop as we have seen over the past few years, growers must be able to select varieties based upon a range of factors including how they perform in changing or restrictive environmental conditions, as well as what sort of economic returns they provide. The existing trials data will certainly have a use, but as climatic conditions change the relevance of this information will decline."

The trials had run since 1991 and finished on March 31.