Information from the British Society of Plant Breeders Spring 2016Plant Breeding MattersPlant Breeding Matters

Commissioned by the EuropeanTechnology Platform Plants for theFuture (Plant ETP), the report byeconomic consultants Hffa ResearchGmbH, entitled ‘The economic,social and environmental value ofplant breeding in the EuropeanUnion’ uses the latest data modellingand calculation techniques toquantify the contribution of EU plantbreeding across a range of economic,social and environmental criteria.

Central to the report’s findings isthe contribution of plant breeding toincreased crop productivity as thebasis for improved agriculturalperformance, increased food supply,jobs and wealth creation, as well asenvironmental benefits such asreduced pressure on uncultivatedhabitats and reduced greenhousegas emissions.

According to the report, accessto improved varieties has becomethe single most important factor inraising EU crop output, with thecontribution of plant breeding toincreased yields ranging from 50%in the case of pulses and sugar beetto 80% for wheat and oilseed rape.

Critically, the crop geneticimprovement delivered through plantbreeding has enabled EU crop yieldsto increase by more than 16% since2000 while total use of other inputssuch as fertiliser, pesticides,machinery and labour has actuallydecreased by 0.5% over the sameperiod. Plant breeding has thereforesupported the process of ‘sustainableintensification’ in EU agriculture byenabling farmers to produce morewhile using fewer inputs and withreduced impact on the environment.

EU study highlights benefits of plant breedingPlant breeding innovation in Europe over the past 15 years has delivered major benefits for agriculture,food production, economic growth and the environment, according to a new EU-wide study.

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PLANT BREEDING INNOVATION IN EUROPE

SECURING RURAL INCOMES AND JOBS

Through plant breeding,Europe has:Prevented biodiverse habitat the size of Latvia being turned into farmland

22 million Olympic swimming pools

MEETING EU 2020 TARGETS

The annualized average reduction of CO2 emissions due to plant breeding is around 160 million tons That’s nearly double the EU 2020 target

CO2

The benefits of better harvests have included:A contribution of more than €14bn to EU GDP1.2 million farm workers earn on average €7,000 more annually

ENSURING SUSTAINABILITY

Thanks to plant breeding, every year farmers in the EU grow an extra:22 million tons of Wheat 3.3 million tons of Oilseed rape 10 million tons of Potatoes

The past 15 years of plant breeding accounts for:80% of growth in Wheat and Oilseed Rape harvests60% of growth in Potato harvests

Since 2000, plant breeding has enabled EU farmers to produce enough extra calories to feed at least 160 million people a year By 2030, plant scientists hope to increase the harvests of key crops by 76 million tons

KEEPING FOOD COSTS DOWN

KEEPING FOOD ON OUR PLATES

ENSURING FOOD SECURITY

Without the last 15 years of plant breeding advances:Wheat and Potatoes would cost 7% more

would cost 8% more

DELIVERING MILLIONSOF TONS OF FOOD

Speak Up For Seeds! Research source: http://bit.do/plantetp-HFFAResearch More info: www.plantetp.org

Continued overleaf

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Increased yieldsOn average and across all major crops cultivated in theEU, plant breeding has contributed around 74% of totalproductivity growth since 2000, equivalent to a yieldincrease of 1.24% per annum. European crop yields todaywould be more than 16% lower without access toimproved varieties.

Increased global food supplyPlant breeding helps combat global hunger andmalnutrition by increasing world food supplies. Since2000, access to improved crop varieties has enabled EUfarmers to produce an additional 47 million tonnes ofgrain and 7 million tonnes of oilseeds – enough extracalories to feed up to 200 million more people.

Full report source: http://bit.do/plantetp-HFFAResearch More info: www.plantetp.org

WHEAT Thanks to plant breeding over the last 15 years, EU wheat harvests have grown by more than 22 million tons. That’s enough for

32 64billion loaves

of bread

loaves for every person

in the EU!

A world without plant breeding would mean less food security and higher prices.Research source: http://bit.do/plantetp-HFFAResearch

More info: www.plantetp.org

WHEA

TAAT

3

32 6

64

of brloavesbillion32

eadevery person

64of brloavesbillion32

in the EU!every person

loaves for64

Full report source: http://bit.do/plantetp-HFFAResearch

More info: www.plantetp.orgResearch source: http://bit.do/plantetp-HFFAResearch More info: www.plantetp.org

PLANT BREEDING FOR SUSTAINABILITY Since 2000, plant breeding

alone has enabled EU farmers to produce enough extra calories to feed at least 160 million people

…that could have fed the whole populations of France and Germany for the past 15 years.Plant breeding ensures Europe can feed itself.

FOR SUSTPLANT BREEDING

AINABILITY T TAINABILITYPLANT BREEDING

Economic growthThrough increased productivity, more efficient input useand improved crop quality, genetic improvement hasadded more than €14 billion to the EU’s GDP, includingalmost €9 billion to the agricultural economy. Withoutplant breeding over the past 15 years, the EU would havebecome a net importer in all major arable crops.

Protecting natural habitatsWithout plant breeding innovation an additional 19million ha of farmland would be needed to maintain EUcrop production levels – equivalent to the combinedarable land of the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland,Portugal and Spain.

Full report source: http://bit.do/plantetp-HFFAResearch More info: www.plantetp.org

Research source: http://bit.do/plantetp-HFFAResearch More info: www.plantetp.org

PLANT BREEDING THE ECONOMICIMPACT

1.2 million European farmers and farm workers would be

without plant breeding,earning €7,000 less annually (on average), and putting rural jobs at risk.

be up to €14,000.

30%

ACTIMPTHE ECONOMICPLANT BREEDING

THE ECONOMICPLANT BREEDING

Full report source: http://bit.do/plantetp-HFFAResearch More info: www.plantetp.org

Research source: http://bit.do/plantetp-HFFAResearch More info: www.plantetp.org

Without plant breeding, Europe would need an extra 19 million hectares of farm land to produce the same amount of food.

Turning 19 million hectares of forests, wetlands and otherhabitats into farmland would release 3.4 bn tons of CO2.Annualised, that’s the same as all the greenhouse gas emissions from traffic in Germany, or the annual CO2 emissions of a country like the Netherlands.

CO2CO2

CO2PLANT BREEDING FOR SUSTAINABILITY

CO2

2CO

2

FOR SUST

CO

PLANT BREEDING

CO2CO

AINABILITY T TAINABILITYPLANT BREEDING

2CO

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Looking ahead to 2030, the reportforecasts that EU plant breeding willbecome even more essential for the deliveryof economic, social and environmentalobjectives as pressure on finite land, waterand energy resources continues to increase.

But it also warns that Europe’s plantbreeders face a challenging political andregulatory environment, potentiallypreventing future access to geneticresources and breeding tools, creatingadditional costs and uncertainties, andstifling vital research investment.

Welcoming the report, BSPB chairman

Dr Richard Summers said: “This study isthe first of its kind to place a value on thecontribution of European plant breedinginnovation, not only in supporting theproductivity, competitiveness and efficiencyof EU crop production, but also in securingwider policy objectives on issues such asfood security, climate change andbiodiversity preservation.”

But he warned that future innovation inEU plant breeding could not be taken forgranted, and would depend on continuedpublic sector investment in relevant plantscience research and an effective

framework of IP protection, as well as asupportive regulatory environment.

“On key issues such as GMOs, accessto genetic resources and novel breedingtechniques, EU decision-making hasbecome highly politicised andunpredictable. The findings of this studyshould serve as a wake-up call to Europe’spolicy-makers that fostering a science-based and enabling regulatoryenvironment for plant breeding is animportant investment for the economy,the environment and our future foodsecurity,” he said.

The report identifies a number of key areas in which the positive contribution of EU plant breeding can be measured and calculated, including:

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Developed as part of the Plant BreedingMatters platform, the videos seek toengage as wide a target audience aspossible by making the benefits of plantbreeding real and immediate to ordinary

people – from innovation in our food,fuel and fibre products to better sportsfacilities and enhanced protection of ourcountryside, biodiversity and naturalenvironment.

The 3-4 minute videos feature acombination of talking heads, action shotsand animation as individual breeders,farmers and scientists set modern plantbreeding into context against six themes:

New BSPB videos demonstratethe value of plant breeding for allBSPB has produced a series of six short videos to explain the business and science of crop improvement, toencourage the next generation of plant scientists, and to demonstrate how plant breeding contributespositively to our everyday lives.

Plant Breeding Matters – Our future food supplyWhy continued innovation in plant breeding will be a majorfactor in meeting the world’s future food needs in the face of rapidpopulation growth, climate change, new pest and diseasechallenges, and pressure on finite natural resources.

“The Green Revolution ushered in a new era ofproduction that in many ways actually saved societyfrom starvation and provided affordable food for all.And now we’re being challenged again to liftproduction to service an even bigger population,and it’s genetics that will be the key to that.” Paul Temple, Farmer

Plant Breeding Matters – The best job in the worldIndividual breeders describe their passion for plant breeding, avaried and rewarding career combining practical and academicskills to translate scientific innovation to the farmer’s field,working at a small scale yet making a difference to globalchallenges such as food security.

“Developing and nurturing a new plant variety fora decade or more makes it a very personalexperience.”Sue Kennedy, Vegetable breeder

Plant Breeding Matters – The science and business of crop improvement How plant breeding works in practice – describing the long-term process of developing a new variety, as well as the newtechnologies and scientific partnerships which can helpbreeders enhance the speed, accuracy and efficiency of cropimprovement.

“A plant breeding cycle can take upwards ofeight years, meaning that we as plant breedersneed to be producing crop varieties today thatwill respond to the challenges we will face adecade from now.”Richard Summers, Cereal breeder

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Plant Breeding Matters – Adding value to our UK economyHighlighting the economic contribution of plant breeding – howevery £1 invested in plant breeding adds £40 to the wider UKeconomy through higher yields and more efficient cropproduction, improved processing qualities, import substitutionand export earnings.

“The 40-fold return on investment associated withplant breeding significantly outperforms otherresearch-based sectors.”Richard Summers, Cereal breeder

Plant Breeding Matters – Improving our everyday livesHow innovation in plant breeding today touches everyone’s livesfor the better – from the improved availability of healthier, tastierfood to our enjoyment of sport, recreation and the countryside –but also how plant breeders are creating and conserving geneticdiversity to help address the challenges of tomorrow.

“It’s through the work of plant breeders collaboratingwith farmers, scientists and end-users that we willcontinue to have food to eat, open spaces to enjoy,and a sustainable agricultural industry.”Richard Summers, Cereal breeder

Plant Breeding Matters – Protecting and promoting innovationHow investment in plant breeding is funded through PlantVariety Rights – a unique form of intellectual property whichrewards success in the market place while stimulatingcontinued innovation through open access to use protectedvarieties in other breeding programmes.

“In the plant breeding industry, IP ensures thatinnovation is rewarded, that successes areshared, and that scientific development is alwaysa priority.”Penny Maplestone, BSPB

Announcing the launch of the newvideos, BSPB chief executive Dr PennyMaplestone said renewed public interestin global issues such as climate changeand food security had led to increaseddemand for information about the role ofplant breeding in modern agriculture andfood production.

“Plant breeders are at the forefront ofthe innovation needed to meet theworld’s future food needs, for exampleby developing higher-yielding, moreclimate-resilient crop varieties and byimproving the resource-use efficiency ofour major crops. We hope these shortvideos will engage and appeal to as wide-

ranging an audience as possible in helpingto explain and illustrate the positivecontribution of the plant breeding andseeds sector,” she said.

All six videos can be viewed onYouTube via the BSPB website at:www.bspb.co.uk

P R O M O T I N G I N N O V A T I O N I N P L A N T B R E E D I N G

The meeting provided a timelyopportunity to consider the pros and consof Plant Variety Rights (PVR) and patentsas the two main forms of IP used toprotect and reward crop geneticinnovation.

Peter Button, head of UPOV, theinternational plant variety rightsorganisation, explained the value and roleof the PVR system over the past 50 yearsin promoting plant breeding innovationand facilitating access to improved cropvarieties in both developed and developingcountries.

He highlighted the results of a 10-yearimpact study in Canada following theintroduction of PVR, which showed thatplant breeding investment doubled from$34m to $68m, and yields of major arablecrops increased significantly (wheat 21%,canola 24%, peas 32%) as a result.

In Kenya, meanwhile, the introductionof a PVR system supported an eight-foldincrease in the value of cut flower exports,primarily because it allowed access to thebest European varieties and opened uphigh quality markets for the first time toKenyan growers.

Dominic Muyldermans of CropLifeInternational emphasised the increasingtime and cost of bringing crop innovationsto market. He considered that the pace ofchange in breeding technology meant thatan all-encompassing IP system of bothpatents and PVR would be required tosupport the levels of investment andresearch effort needed to address theurgent challenges of food security andclimate change.

The development of individual, high-value traits, available for use in manydifferent varieties, was a resource-intensiveprocess requiring significant levels ofresearch investment, but which could notbe protected through PVR, he said.

He also highlighted the example ofOgura, a patented hybrid oilseed rapebreeding system developed by publicsector researchers at INRA in France.Patent protection had enabled INRA torecoup its original €56m investment

within 15 years as commercial adoptionof Ogura hybrids – offering 6-10%higher yields – increased to more than80% of the French OSR market. Since75% of the benefits of Ogura accrued tofarmers and consumers, he argued thatthis demonstrated the socio-economicvalue of patents in stimulating andrewarding successful innovation.

The APPGSTA meeting also coincidedwith the publication of a new factsheeton this issue by the Parliamentary Officeof Science and Technology (POST)entitled Intellectual Property and Plants(POST-PN-0517). The factsheet’s author,Sarah Smith, told the meeting that whilePVR protection of individual cropvarieties remains by far the most widelyused form of IP protection for plantbreeders, recent advances in breedingtechniques and gene sequencingtechnology have brought a new wave ofpatent applications for innovative traitsand breeding tools.

This in turn has stimulated reneweddebate over the balance and compatibilitybetween the two IP systems, andultimately what is patentable in relationto plant-based innovation.

The European Patent Conventionexcludes plant varieties and conventionalbreeding processes from the scope ofpatentability, although until recently itwas not clear whether the products ofconventional breeding were patentable.

A decision by the European PatentOffice (EPO) last year (the so-called‘Broccoli II and Tomato II cases’) ruledthat while conventional breedingprocesses themselves are not patentable,the resulting products – in this casebroccoli with increased glucosinolatesand tomatoes with reduced water content– could be patented as plants with noveltraits providing of course that the usualpatentability criteria are met.

It was clear from discussion at theAPPGSTA meeting that opinion remainsdivided on the use of patents inconventional plant breeding and theimplications of the EPO decision.

For some, products from plantbreeding should not be pantentable andincreased use of patents brings concernsover seed sector consolidation andreduced access to genetic resources.

For others, the EPO ruling hasprovided clarification of the legal basis onwhich innovative plant products can bepatented, offering greater certainty and anincentive for continued research andinvestment to support innovation in EUagriculture.

Concluding the meeting, APPGSTAchair Mark Spencer MP said: “There is agrowing recognition that plant breederswill need access to new technologies andincreased levels of investment to help cropproduction keep pace with the demandsof global challenges such as populationgrowth and climate change. Bringing newknowledge and applications to marketmay require new thinking, and newbusiness models. But effective IPprotection – whether through PVR,patents or a combination of the two –will be essential to support continuedinnovation in the plant breeding sector.”

IP and Innovation in AgricultureThe All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology inAgriculture (APPGSTA) hosted a meeting at Westminster earlier thisyear to explore the role of Intellectual Property (IP) protection in plantbreeding and its importance for continued research and innovation inthe agri-tech sector.

Mark Spencer MP

Innovation in plant breeding must besupported by effective IP protection

Photo: DSV

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British Society of Plant Breeders LtdBSPB House, 114 Lancaster Way Business Park, ELY CB6 3NXTel +44(0)1353 653200 Fax +44(0)1353 661156Email enquiries@bspb.co.uk Website www.bspb.co.uk

Schoolchildren all over the country arenow taking part in an experiment to growand compare seeds that have been in spacewith seeds of the same variety that havestayed firmly on the ground. The extra-terrestrial seeds were sent to theInternational Space Station and spentseveral months in orbit before returning toearth in March 2016 to be distributed toup to 10,000 schools.

The results from the children’sexperiments will be used to try to answermuch bigger questions about whetherhuman life can be sustained in space andwhat growing plants in space might beable to tell us about life on earth – as wellas hopefully sparking the next generation’sinterest in the fundamental importance ofplant science to our existence.

Plant Breeding Matters awaits news ofthe results and the possible need toconsider inter-galactic seeds regulations forthe future.

Space rocket seed comesback down to earth BSPB member Tozer Seeds recently donated 2kg of their saladrocket seeds to support a nationwide research initiative led by theRoyal Horticultural Society and the UK Space Agency.

His role at BSPB involves handling queriesfrom growers on farm-saved seed, as well asprocessing, checking and chasing FSSdeclarations. He also carries out specialcollections from seed merchants twice a yearon certified seed sales of varieties not coveredby the standard BSPB licence, and helps outwith communication projects to highlight thebenefits of continued investment in plantbreeding - such as the PVR campaign andtwitter feed (@PVR_org).

With a strong background inadministration but little practical experienceof agriculture – just a summer’s roguing andplanting lettuces on a friend’s farm – Lewisgreatly enjoys ‘learning something new everyday’ about the industry.

“Since joining BSPB I have come torecognise the critical importance of farm-saved seed payments for farmers andbreeders alike,” says Lewis. “There isn’tmuch public or government-sponsoredresearch going into plant breeding so itcomes down to private companies to createnew varieties that are resistant to changingdisease pressures and climatic conditions, and

to increase yields. Mostfarmers I deal with on

a day to day basisunderstand thesituation andsupport the needto maintaininvestment in plantbreeding. I amreally pleased to be

making a positivecontribution to UK

agriculture.”

Meet theBSPB teamLewis Crowder,CollectionsAdministrator Lewis joined the BSPB farm-savedseed team four and half years ago.

Online payment facility isnow available for Spring 2016declarations

UPDATE

Astronaut Tim Peake withrocket seeds from BSPB

member Tozer Seeds

Farmers are increasingly enjoying theconvenience of using the online system todeclare farm-saved use and opting out ofreceiving paper declaration forms fromBSPB. As well as being a quick and easyway to declare, this also helps BSPB toreduce the costs of administering the farm-saved seed collection system and meansthat more of the money that we collectcan go back to the plant breeders for

reinvestment in developing new varieties.In response to feedback from farmersBSPB has now introduced the facility forfarmers to pay online by credit cardwhen making their declaration.

To declare and pay online visitwww.bspb.co.uk and click ‘Farm savedseed declarations’. For help telephone theFSS helpline on 01353 653209 or emailfss@bspb.co.uk. Lewis Crowder