The adoption of the Regulation concludes several years of scientific assessment, political debate and legislative negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission.
The new framework establishes a dedicated regulatory pathway for NGT plants and provides greater clarity regarding their development, authorisation and marketing in the European Union.
Europatat has welcomed the efforts of the European institutions and all stakeholders involved in bringing this complex legislative file to a successful conclusion. The Regulation is expected to strengthen Europe’s capacity for agricultural innovation, while contributing to food security and the long-term resilience of agricultural production.
For the potato sector, the new legislation opens new opportunities for the development of varieties with characteristics increasingly sought by growers and the value chain, including improved resistance to pests and diseases and enhanced adaptability to storage and processing.
The framework is also expected to facilitate research and investment in plant breeding, helping to accelerate the availability of innovative solutions for the sector.
Florimond Desprez, Chair of the Europatat Technical and Regulatory Commission, welcomed the adoption of the Regulation.
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“The adoption of the NGT Regulation is an important step for European agriculture and plant breeding. Policymakers are giving our sector the opportunity to benefit from a major scientific innovation to develop solutions to some of the challenges we are facing in a context of agricultural transition. It is a positive signal for breeders and researchers, although significant uncertainties remain around the IP of NGT technologies. Their development also leads to an increase in the number of patented genes which threatens the current operating model of the breeding sector,” he said.
Romans Vorss, Director for Technical Affairs at Europatat, added that potato growers are facing increasing challenges linked to pest and disease pressure, changing weather patterns, the need to produce more with fewer available inputs and the need to reduce food waste.
“NGTs can help accelerate the development of potato varieties better suited to these realities,” he said.
Europatat is the European Potato Trade Association, bringing together national associations and individual companies involved in the trade of seed potatoes, ware potatoes and early potatoes across Europe. Its members include breeders, distributors, storers, packers, importers and exporters supplying seed potatoes to farmers, raw material to the food industry, and packed potatoes to retailers and the food service sector.
