Gigi Manicad, Host

Szonja Csörgő, Euroseeds

Bram De Jonge, Oxfam

Teshome Hunduma, Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

Teshome Hunduma is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Teshome’s primary research focuses on seed governance with particular reference to enhancing smallholders’ access to quality seeds and varietal diversity. Teshome published work on inclusive seed system development. Earlier, he worked for the Development Fund of Norway in Oslo, Haramaya University, and the National Genebank in Ethiopia

Dr. Bram de Jonge is the Seed Policy Advisor at Oxfam, the Netherlands. In the context of the Sowing Diversity = Harvesting Security (SD=HS) program, De Jonge’s work aims to support the development and implementation of an enabling policy environment for farmers’ seed systems and the implementation of Farmers’ Rights, at global, national and local levels.

Szonja Csörgő is Hungarian and holds a degree in Law from ELTE Budapest University, an MA in French and European Law from Panthéon-Assas University (Paris) and an L.LM. in IP and Competition Law from the University of Liège. Before joining Euroseeds she worked at the European Commission. In 2009 she became Euroseeds’ Intellectual Property and Legal Affairs Director. Within Euroseeds, Szonja is primarily responsible for issues related to intellectual property protection and plant genetic resources and also handles all seed legislation related legal questions. She represents Euroseeds towards relevant international organizations, European Institutions as well as the Community Plant Variety Office.

In this SeedNL podcast, we dive into how Plant Breeders' Rights and Farmers' Rights are frequently framed as contradicting ways for how seeds are accessed, developed, sold and used. These rights and corresponding policies have a significant impact on the seed sector, and therefore also on food and nutrition security around the world.

The podcast series facilitates dialogue with and between three experts who talk about their different perspectives on the discussion - and find collaborative ways forward. 

SeedNL is a public private partnership that aims to strengthen the seed sector in low and middle income countries by helping farmers get better access to better quality seeds. We believe in partnerships and an integrated approach that respects and includes the formal and the so-called informal seed sector. We aim to create a safe space for multi-stakeholder discussions, also on more controversial topics such as the one focused on in this podcast. For more information, go to seednl.nl or send us an email at [email protected]