The international treaty on plant genetic resources – the article 9 in particular – , the growing consumers’ demand for locally produced food, the increasing awareness of the need to preserve endangered agro-biodiversity and the necessity to decrease the use of external inputs (i.e. pesticides and fertilizer in organic farming), has increased the demand for seeds of land races, speciality and conservation varieties. However, the strict rules for marketing of seeds established by the Directive 98/95/EC and in general in the European seed legislation combined with the small market niches for such varieties with limited interest for commercial companies threaten the conservation of local varieties.