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June 16, 2003
Research by
Plant Research
International has shown that the Netherlands will have
adequate levels of starting material available for all major
organic arable and vegetable crops in 2004. The only crop for
which demand will exceed supply is alfalfa. Although
insufficient data was collected to give a
definitive report on minor crops, the expectation is that scant
supplies of starting material will be available for these crops.
The starting material used for organic cultivation, such as
seeds and seed material, must also be of organic origin. Due to
the fact that the organic starting material sector has only
recently got off the ground, a general pardon applies until the
end of 2003. From 1 January 2004, there will be no exemptions
for those crops for which it can be established that sufficient
organic starting material is available.
Plant Research International conducted a study into the demand
and supply of organic starting material in the Netherlands. The
demand for organically produced starting material was calculated
based upon the acreage of organically cultivated crops. In
addition, a survey was held among 40 organic growers. The
availability of organically produced starting material was
estimated using data from the producers.
A significant amount of organically produced starting material
is already being used for the major crops. The study showed that
sufficient organically produced starting material will be
available for all of the most important arable and vegetable
crops in 2004. The only crop for which a shortfall is expected
is alfalfa. The situation for clover is unclear because of a
lack of proper data over the available acreage: there may be a
bottleneck occurring here. Insufficient data was accessible on
minor crops, and limited supplies of starting material are
likely to become available.
The Plant Sciences Expertise
Group is a collaboration of:
- Plant Research International B.V.
- Applied Plant Research (Praktijkonderzoek Plant en Omgeving
B.V.)
- Wageningen University, department of Plant Sciences
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