Recent No Patents on Seeds! research shows an alarming trend in the monopolisation of naturally occurring gene variants, especially those which can provide improved resistance to disease and stress conditions.
At present, these natural resources are increasingly being patented as technical inventions. Once granted, the claims extend to plants obtained from crossing and selection using the patented genes. The current situation is hampering access to the most valuable genetic resources and putting our future food security at risk.
“According to statements made by the European Patent Office (EPO), industrial representatives and politicians, conventionally bred plants cannot be patented. However, our research shows the exact opposite is happening,” says Johanna Eckhardt from No Patents on Seeds!
In 2025, we found around 40 international patent applications explicitly targeting conventionally bred food plants. Most of the applications claim naturally occurring gene variants as technical inventions and / or resistance to pathogens in plants that cause fungal or viral diseases.
“This development is a serious threat to small and medium-sized breeding companies. We are being impacted by increased costs and new dependencies that fundamentally challenge our breeding operations both now and in future,” warns Frans Carree, a representative of the De Bolster company.
In 2017, a new rule was introduced into patent law to exclude patents on conventional breeding. Nevertheless, the European Patent Office (EPO) is still accepting and granting these kinds of patents. Recently granted patents claim maize, lettuce, spinach and tomatoes obtained from selection of the claimed gene variants and subsequent crossings.
“Patents on seeds can have serious consequences for agriculture. There will be much less choice for agriculture and horticulture. Many patents extend to the harvest and its use in food and feed,” adds Annemarie Volling from the Small Farmers Organisation (AbL).
The European Parliament now has a chance to end the ongoing monopolisation of seeds in their upcoming vote on the future regulation of plants obtained from new genetic engineering (NGTs). NGT applications are one of the reasons for an increasing number of patents on seeds. In many cases, NGT patents also cover naturally occurring gene variants.
“In the context of EU patents and NGTs, the EU should also think about the implications for the Global South. If seed monopolies promote concentration in the markets, this can have a massive effect on agriculture and plant breeding in other countries. We are all dependent on diversity in plant breeding and seed production to ensure regional food production,” Nout van der Vaart explains for Oxfam Novib.
In 2024, the European Parliament called for a ban on such patents being granted. In a vote scheduled for June, the EU will finally decide on a draft regulation in regard to NGT plants. At present, the current version of the draft regulation has no restrictions on seed patents at all. No Patents on Seeds! is demanding that the regulation is amended to stop the ongoing monopolisation of plant genetic resources. If the new regulation cannot put an end to this problem, then it should be rejected.
