The Wizards of Svalöf

Chrysa Morfi

doi:10.23986/afsci.86937

Abstract

This paper reviews the most prominent changes that have taken place in the plant breeding industry in Sweden. We argue that the establishment of Intellectual Property Rights schemes creates power asymmetry in the seed value chain and has therefore been a major driver of consolidation in Sweden and internationally. Furthermore, we provide an assessment of the use of cultivars bred domestically. This has been achieved by identifying and classifying the variety owners for major crops based on the origin of the breeding station and calculating the percentage of the domestically-bred varieties used in crop production. The ratio of local varieties in relation to imported varieties is of special significance to Sweden, which has a long history of plant breeding and a challenging climate.

Highlights

The hot and dry summer of 2018 was problematic for agriculture in Northern European countries, including Sweden
Concentration is a common phenomenon in all segments of global food value chains; in the agricultural inputs markets (Howard 2009), agricultural production (MacDonald 2015), industrial processing (MacDonald and McBride 2009) and wholesale/retail distribution (Sexton and Xia 2018)
mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have played a key role in the evolution of the seed industry worldwide (Srinivasan 2003, Moretti and Matringe 2006, Howard 2009, Fuglie et al 2011, Pardey et al 2013, Bonny 2014, 2017, Howard 2015, Lianos et al 2016)

Summary

Introduction

The hot and dry summer of 2018 was problematic for agriculture in Northern European countries, including Sweden. The country received less rainfall than the expected annual level, leaving Swedish farmers with substantial losses. As a result of the crisis, Sweden turned to the European Commission and asked for emergency aid support. A few months later, the government presented a package of SEK 1.2 billion to cover the fodder shortage and other loss of income that farmers are experiencing due to the drought (Government Offices of Sweden 2018).This unusually warm and dry summer is likely to be repeated. Changes in rainfall patterns combined with prolonged growth seasons could result in increased pressure from diseases and pests (Eriksson et al 2018)

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