Plant breeding in the EU contributes to various socio-economic and environmental benefits. This is the general conclusion that can be drawn from our newest research. In particular, European plant breeding since the turn of the millennium has contributed to:

• • increased yields and production in arable farming,
  • improved market and trade conditions,
  • increased food availability,
  • higher economic prosperity and increased social welfare,
  • additional farm income and jobs,
  • lower land use,
  • reduced greenhouse gas emissions,
  • preserved biodiversity, and
  • the saving of water resources.

Also in future, plant breeding in the EU will be able to provide these benefits, thus contributing to the goals of the EU “Farm to Fork” and Biodiversity strategies. Therefore, plant breeders must take responsibility by investing even more into innovation. Encouraging them to do so, requires reliable and sound policies. This includes strengthening of R&D and supporting public awareness raising as well as establishing a differentiated regulatory framework based on proportionate and non-discriminatory safety considerations for individual techniques and resulting products.

For more details, which are available for the EU in total as well as four selected EU member states, namely France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and the United Kingdom as a former EU member state, see our report, which can be downloaded on the right side of this post.

For a high resoluted version of the study, please download here.

HFFA Research-The socio-economic and environmental values of plant breeding in the EU