The goal of Sativa Rheinau, a Swiss organic seed company, is to support independent organic farming and preserve biodiversity with its organic seed. The urgency becomes clear when you look at the current market of plant and seed producers.
There are only a few seed companies, however they control a large share of the commercial market and try to prevent the sales of other varieties than their own. So there is a one-sided focus on a few standard and high-yield varieties in the cultivation of vegetables and as a result the diversity of varieties of crops decreases. Biodiversity is key to creating new varieties, varieties that can cope with specific weather and soil conditions of the cultivation area.
Especially organic farming needs robust plants that combine good quality and yield stability with the requirements of organic farming. For years the issue has been neglected in organic farming, all the attention went to the growing conditions and not to the origin of the seed. However the production of organic seed is slowly gaining momentum. An increasing number of seed varieties is specially developed for organic farming. Furthermore, the production of organic seed takes place mainly on the organic farm.
This summer Sativa Rheinau invited several visitors, members of BioTropic as well as organic producers of Bingenheimer Saatgut and „saat:gut“. The 13 visitors got the opportunity to see the practical aspects of organic cultivation in Switzerland and Italy.
Sativa Rheinau cooperates with several producers and farmers all over the world. These provide land for the research and share the results, seeds and practical tips with others. For instance, Fattoria di Vaira a Demeter farm in Italy, where the 13 visitors could examine various experimental plots on which organic seed is produced. The farm uses 9 hectare for basil, carrots, salads, onions and chard. Another trip went to the organic company PMP where carrots and chard seed is produced in cooperation with Sativa Rheinau.
Sascha Suler of the German branch of BioTropic is impressed, “We have seen very fascinating and detailed work, and the production of seeds according to organic criteria is time consuming and requires a lot of work: sowing, reaping, analyzing, selecting, sowing over and over, until there is a new and stable plant variety. It takes more than 10 years to create a successful new variety.”
BioTropic has committed themselves to the seed production, and found three organic producers prepared to support the organic seed production of Sativa Rheinau. BioTropic has been working with these three farmers for a long time and the German broccoli and kohlrabi will be used for the seed production.
The organic products are marketed under the brand name “Bioverita.“ These seeds are of outstanding quality, because they are developed especially for organic farming, in organic soil and from organic seed.
