Our aspiration
Plant breeders in Europe are committed to maintaining and creating new biodiversity by using existing plant genetic resources to develop new ones. They are also committed to supporting environmental protection, with benefits for farmers, the whole agri-food chain and consumers.
Our challenge
With agriculture covering approximately half of the EU’s land area, biodiversity and agricultural practices are intimately linked. The underlying challenge is how to increase agricultural production – especially given the need to increase global food supply – while safeguarding our planet’s natural environment and biodiversity.
Our response
Plant breeding is the science of recombining plant genetics into new varieties with improved stress-tolerance and disease-resistance. Plant breeding can support the reduction of pesticide use and improve the uptake of nutrients, therefore contributing to environmental protection. Genetic diversity is the basis of plant breeding and conserving this diversity is key for the sector. Plant breeders sustainably use genetic resources and contribute to enhancing genetic diversity of our food crops. In addition, more productive crop varieties help to reduce the land for agricultural production, thus leaving more space for natural habitats that can be used to preserve our biodiversity.
