GEVES

French Variety and Seed Study and Control Group

GEVES is a public interest group and the only official organisation in France providing expertise on new plant varieties and seed quality analysis. It is made up of INRAE, the Ministry of Agriculture and Semae.

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Events

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News

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10/10/2025 -

Focus on seed quality

Alice Richard-Jolly, Director of GEVES' National Seed Testing Station (SNES), presents the activities dedicated to seed quality at the start[...]
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9/10/2025 -

Focus on the varieties expertise news

Fabien Masson, Director of the Variety Study Sector at GEVES, presents the activities dedicated to the official evaluation of varieties[...]
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7/10/2025 -

Workshop: Detection and identification of bruchids in seed samples

GEVES is organising a workshop in Beaucouzé with the aim of sharing knowledge and practices relating to the detection of[...]

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Our main missions

Describe and evaluate varieties

Describe and evaluate new varieties for registration in the French Official Catalogue and/or legal protection at national or European level

Evaluate the quality and conformuty of seeds and plants

Assessing the quality and conformity of seeds and plants as part of official analyses for marketing purposes and for additional private services for companies in the sector

Ensure national coordination of the conservation of plant genetic resources

Ensuring national coordination of plant genetic resource conservation, an essential action for the conservation of cultivated biodiversity

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Coordinating a French network of seed analysis laboratories

As the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for seeds and plants, GEVES is the technical contact for seed quality analyses for the ministry, the competent authority, and approved and recognised laboratories. In this capacity, GEVES will train and certify laboratory employees, organise technical meetings, share methods, assist laboratories in resolving technical issues, conduct audits, organise inter-laboratory trials, and carry out official analyses for the purpose of establishing control charts.

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Provide training

GEVES can train experts at national and international level within the framework of collaborations in its areas of expertise concerning the description and evaluation of varieties and methods and practices for evaluating seed quality.

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Participate in research and offer expertise
GEVES conducts applied research aimed at developing relevant methods for seed analysis and variety studies, using the most appropriate tools from academic research. GEVES’ research work focuses on the following themes:
  • Better evaluating varieties and seeds in terms of agroecology, contributing to the maintenance of biodiversity and addressing climate change
  • Improving evaluation methods to increase efficiency and reliability and strengthen health and safety protection at work
GEVES and Its Core Values
Key Figures for 2024
67 000

Varieties in collection

65 000

Seed analyses

309

Employees

3 300m²

Laboratory

59

Research projects / initiatives

+1200

Visitors welcomed

440 ha

For field trials including 76,000 micro-plots

18 000m²

of greenhouses and tunnels

625

New varieties registered in the Catalogue

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This means receiving information on expertise, regulations on varieties and seeds at national and international level, as well as on GEVES news!

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