Newsletter December 2025 – Balkan Seed Network Association

  • December 31, 2025
  • Blog

Latest news

Balkan Seed Network Cooperation Meeting Held in Belsh, Albania ‍

On Thursday, October 30th, 2025, the Balkan Seed Network Cooperation Meeting was held at the “Paja” Agritourism Center in Belsh. The event was organized by Balkan Seed Network Association (BSNA) and supported financially by Arche Noah (Austrian member, NGO). Albanian network member Plant Genetic Resources Association (APGR) and its Chairman Prof. Dr. Fetah Elezi, organized the hosting of the event (prepared venue of meeting, visiting program and accommodation of participants).

 

During the morning session the General Assembly of the Balkan Seed Network Association (BSNA) took place, with participation from representatives of seven member organizations across the Balkans (Alica Foundation – Bosnia and Herzegovina, AEGILOPS – Greece, APGR – Albania, AOP – Albania, EMFL – Serbia, ART- Romania, ZMAG-Croatia, and PoleRani- Bulgaria. The session served as a platform for members to exchange updates about their national activities, discuss amendments to the BSNA Statute, evaluate funding opportunities, and plan strategic next steps for network development and visibility. The Assembly unanimously approved PoleRani as a new BSNA member, expanding the network’s reach in Bulgaria.‍

Following the morning session, participants visited the Experimental Base of the Genetic Resources Center in the village of Hardhi, where they toured the seed collection, processing and preparation facilities, the Seed Bank, and the experimental fields. The delegation also visited the Collection Center for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the company “BioBes” in Belsh.

 

The day concluded with an official dinner, featuring a performance by local musicians and singers. All participants expressed their sincere appreciation to the hosting organizers for the successful conduct of the meeting and the excellent hospitality provided during their stay in Belsh.‍

Upcoming events‍

Next General Assembly Meeting
28th or 29th of January, online 
(date and time  to  be confirmed soon by email until 10th of January)
Proposed Agenda:
1. Verification of the minutes of the GA in Belsh, 29-30 October 2025
2. Adopting the 2025 BSNA Report of activities (including Arche Noah project, Belsh GA meeting, fee issue..)
3. Adopting 2026 BSNA Plan of activities
4. Information and planning of participation in the LLD Forum 2026 (Florence, Italy)
5. BSNA Working Groups: which and how to start (maybe 1. WG for joint crop project, 2. Policy WG; 3. Communication WG -taking care about newsletter, info for web and facebook)
6. Balkan Seed Festival 2026 : when?, who?
7. Joint 2026 project in place (each member can organize a field trial: same crop, accessions from member’s collection/s..)
8. Sharing between members
9. Other issues, next GA

Seed Policy‍

EU Agriculture Ministers Restrict Farmers’ Rights‍

 

“The position of the agriculture ministers endangers those who keep crop diversity alive. We call for reason to foster resilience in agriculture and protect the diversity and flavour on our plates,” comments ARCHE NOAH seed law expert Magdalena Prieler. The trilogue negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the new “Regulation on the Production and Marketing of Plant Reproductive Material” will begin in the new year.

Instead of protecting farmers and local seed producers, the Council’s position imposes the same bureaucratic requirements on small companies as on global corporations. The new record-keeping, reporting and traceability rules would hit small producers the hardest. However, small producers make an invaluable contribution to the preservation and marketing of old, open-pollinated varieties. Despite their small size, they also often offer a wider range of crops than the largest players on the market. “If these small businesses are pushed out of the market owing to new administrative burdens, our markets would lose much of their crop diversity – an outcome that harms us all” says Prieler.

For the whole article follow the link: https://liberatediversity.org/eu-agriculture-ministers-restrict-farmers-rights/ 

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