Maaike Raaijmakers

Cooperation Bionext is the Dutch branch organisation for the organic food and farming sector representing the interests of the Dutch organic farmers, seed producers and breeders, processors, traders and the specialised organic shops. Organic seed and breeding is an important policy topic for Bionext.

Activities include lobby for improvement of the regulation on organic seed, initiate and supervise research on organic breeding, projects to stimulate the production and use of organic seed and vegetative propagating material, and campaigning against patents on seeds.

Maaike Raaijmakers works at Bionext as a project leader for organic seed and breeding since 2003. She has been involved in organising the ECO-PB international workshops on the EU organic seed rules and is an active member of the seed task force of IFOAM OE.

Since 2010, she is responsible for the Dutch National Annex project, including the organisation of annual meetings of expert groups and advising on the derogation policy. Within the Horizon 2020 LIVESEED project, she was deputy leader of WP 1 on policy and regulation.

Website Bionext