De Bary then talked about the role of the seed industry and about the results obtained by research, especially with regards to resistances.
The objective of Gruppo Orto wic, the vegetable seed section of Assosementi, is to create an integrated chain to promote innovation and guarantee high quality.
In addition to this, the various companies part of the group are also very much active in defending intellectual property. FreshPlaza talked to De Bary about it.
Safeguarding innovation
Safeguarding innovation
"Cuttings are the classic example of an often irregular technique that can compromise the future chance of innovating. There are two types: classic cutting is when growers take sprouts to obtain a new plant without buying seeds. This is only allowed if the variety is not protected (provided that some rules are followed), otherwise it is illegal."
"The second type is multiplication in nursery gardens. Assosementi has estimated that this phenomenon affects 15-20% of cherry tomato seeds."
Consequences can be serious in both cases. In the second one in particular it can lead to the requisition of all the produce on the market and to a fine. The whole production system is damaged in the end due to unfair competition.
The consequences are discussed by Basile de Bary with an example: "A research station that had half a hectare of greenhouses with 6 employees 15 years ago has not grown one bit, whereas the same company in Spain now has 5 hectares and 42 employees. If this is the case, then seed companies invest elsewhere - there are companies that gave up developing varieties in Italy, and therefore innovations reach Italian producers when they are no longer new."
That is precisely why the "Road to quality" project was developed, tracing the productive process along the whole chain. A collective mark to guarantee the origin of the materials, their characteristics and the use of suitable practices.
"The second type is multiplication in nursery gardens. Assosementi has estimated that this phenomenon affects 15-20% of cherry tomato seeds."
Consequences can be serious in both cases. In the second one in particular it can lead to the requisition of all the produce on the market and to a fine. The whole production system is damaged in the end due to unfair competition.
The consequences are discussed by Basile de Bary with an example: "A research station that had half a hectare of greenhouses with 6 employees 15 years ago has not grown one bit, whereas the same company in Spain now has 5 hectares and 42 employees. If this is the case, then seed companies invest elsewhere - there are companies that gave up developing varieties in Italy, and therefore innovations reach Italian producers when they are no longer new."
That is precisely why the "Road to quality" project was developed, tracing the productive process along the whole chain. A collective mark to guarantee the origin of the materials, their characteristics and the use of suitable practices.