Production of Organic Seeds in Poland

Abstract

Organic seeds are the ones which are produced without any fertilizers and pesticides, except those based on copper or sulphur. Since many years, one has been observing in Poland an increase in the number of farms producing organic food. Their owners can apply for a direct payment from the special European Union programme. In 2014, a survey was carried out in 5 agricultural and 5 horticultural most important seed companies on their production of organic seeds. It was done through personal contacts with the people responsible for seed company marketing. In Poland, only 4 seed companies produce organic seeds. They are of onion, carrot, tomato, basil, broad bean, beetroot, zucchini, cucumber, dill, parsley, broccoli, pumpkin, pea, leek, watercress, chive, radish, spinach and common bean as well as cereals and legumes. The present EU law regulations concerning organic food and seeds are not creating a market demand for organic seed production. By collecting data from 10 most important agricultural and horticultural Polish seeds companies, the picture was created about domestic offer of organic seeds in the years 2008-2014.