Defra is to abandon funding for organic seed trials at the end of March. The trials have run since 1991 and are the only formal way growers are able to access data on the performance of organic seed varieties in Britain.
Pressure is being put on Defra to reverse this decision by the Soil Association, the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) and Delfland Nurseries Limited, a leading supplier of organic plants.
“It must be understood that new varieties are being developed and appearing on the market all the time,” said Paul Temple, NFU vice president.
“For the organic sector to continue to develop as we have seen over the past few years, growers must be able to select varieties based upon a range of factors - how they perform in changing or restrictive environmental conditions, as well as what sort of economic returns they provide.
“The existing trials data will certainly have a use but as climatic conditions change the relevance of this information will decline. We urge Defra to continue funding the trials until any new research work begins."
Jeff Rooker, Defra minister for sustainable farming and food, admited that ‘the long running trials have indeed provided good value for money.’
The Horticulture Research International (HRI) department at the University of Warwick and NIAB are in discussion with Defra as to the future of the trials.
