Home | EU-SAGE

Our Objectives

Represent European Scientists On Genome Editing

Advocate The Potential Of Genome Editing For Agriculture

Facilitate Science-Based Policy Making

EU-SAGE

EU-SAGE is a network representing plant scientists at 134 European plant science institutes and societies that have joined forces to provide information about genome editing and promote the development of European and EU member state policies that enable the use of genome editing for sustainable agriculture and food production.

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The European Parliament recognises the value of NGTs: Good news for the development and future of agriculture

AFBV1, WGG2, EU-SAGE3 and GfPB4, four European associations bringing together mainly scientists and experts in biotechnology, welcome the European Parliament's vote of 7 February (307 to 263 with 41 abstentions) in favour of the draft regulation on plants derived from New Genomic Techniques (NGT) published by the Commission in July 2023. Combined with other techniques already in use, NGTs make it possible to speed up the process of plant breeding by more rapidly generating plants that are resistant to biotic stresses caused by pathogens and pests, tolerant to abiotic stresses caused by the environment (drought tolerance, for example), or higher-quality plants that meet the demands of farmers, consumers and manufacturers. The proposal ensures transparency regarding the use of plants and products from NGT. The use of NGT plants in organic farming remains explicitly excluded and seeds from NGT plants need to be labelled in consequence. This vote constitutes an important step towards a new regulation allowing the use of NGTs.

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Contact persons

Prof. Dr. Dirk Inzé

Science Director at VIB and Coordinator of the EU-SAGE network

Dr. Eng. Oana Dima

Executive Manager of the EU-SAGE network

Eng. René Custers

Regulatory & Responsible Research Manager of the EU-SAGE network

What Our Members Share

Prof. Dr. Dirk Inzé

Science Director at VIB and Coordinator of the EU-SAGE network

The support we received for this initiative from plant scientists all over Europe has been overwhelming from the start. To me, it clearly illustrates the current dichotomy in Europe: as European leaders in the field of plant sciences we are committed to bringing innovative and sustainable solutions to agriculture, but we are hindered by an outdated regulatory framework that is not in line with recent scientific evidence. With the EU-SAGE network we hope to promote evidence-informed policymaking in the EU, which is of crucial importance to us all.