Varieties for Diversity

In 2013, the German Plant Breeders’ Association (BDP), in co-operation with the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMEL) and the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), established the initiative ‘Varieties for Diversity’. The objective is to enhance the availability of improved varieties to anybody who would wish to use those for the purposes and under the conditions of the Multilateral System (MLS). Thereby, the Varieties for Diversity initiative aims at implementing the principles of the breeders’ exemption also to those who might not be able to access the varieties concerned under normal market conditions. The core component is that protected premium plant varieties of German breeders are included in the MLS of the International Treaty. The varieties, including their climatic adaptations, are comprehensively described to facilitate the targeted selection of suitable plant material. They are easily accessible to anyone who signs the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) through the German National Inventory of Plant Genetic Resources. For the genetic resources themselves, no payment is charged, but the recipient may have to pay for shipping costs and the necessary plant health certificates. So far, more than 300 varieties of German breeders have been included in the MLS.