A Dutch seed company faces up to KWS patents
By Denis Meshaka
Published on the 04/04/2024
https://infogm.org/en/a-dutch-seed-company-faces-up-to-kws-patents/
Inf’OGM interviewed a Dutch seed company that has developed a
cold-resistant “organic” maize and that feels threatened by
KWS patents. She tells us the story of her company Nordic
Maize breeding, of her certified organic maize, of its likely
future contamination by GMOs/NGTs…
Inf’OGM reported on how two seed companies now find themselves
under threat of prosecution. Inf’OGM interviewed one of these
two breeders, Grietje Raaphorst-Travaille, co-founder with her
husband of Nordic Maize breeding (NMb). Originally a biochemist,
then a chemistry teacher, she first worked in a laboratory and
then in plant breeding from 1990 onwards. With her husband, they
worked for VanderHave, a Dutch seed company, which they left in
1997 shortly after it was taken over by the British company
Zeneca. They officially founded NMb in 2002.
Inf’OGM – How does Nordic Maize breeding work?
Grietje Raaphorst-Travaille – We work with certified organic
farming. We don’t have a farm as such, and we don’t even own our
own fields. We work with farmers. They sow the maize and we
manage the seed production. But our varieties are protected by
plant breeders’ rights. As well as maize, we are also developing
winter peas, which go very well with early-harvested maize. If
you harvest your maize on time, you’ll have plenty of time to
plant your winter peas. These crops also protect the soil in
winter and allow farmers to produce more protein themselves and
feed their animals in a more diversified way. This is not so
common in the Netherlands. Farmers generally stick to a single
annual crop and aim for the highest possible yields.
What motivated the creation of Nordic Maize breeding?
Having moved to the north of the Netherlands, we found.. =>
to read the full article, see https://infogm.org/en/a-dutch-seed-company-faces-up-to-kws-patents/
-- Eric Meunier Inf'OGM - www.infogm.org