The Regulation on Niche Varieties, established by the amendment of Article 29 of the Regulation on Seed and Planting Material in 2010, has since then been implemented by the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG). The objective is to enable the sustainable use of PGRFA and reduce technical barriers for small-scale value chains. Through this measure, small-scale breeders, producer-communities (1-5 farmers), and non-profit organizations (>5 farmers) can save and use seeds of non-commercial varieties. Such ‘niche varieties’ benefit from a simplified procedure for market admission; official variety registration and certification of seeds or planting material are not required. Core components include: (1) authorization of a person / enterprise for marketing of seed other than specified in the general marketing regulation for seed and propagating material; (2) definition and control of the size of the niche (maximum annual amount of seed); and (3) application of plant health control measures. These measures allow for a complementary pathway for seed supply, in addition to the highly formalized system targeting commercial varieties, and has enabled sustainable use and further development of about 40 common vegetable varieties, several old varieties of crops with special characteristics, and even new varieties for specific market segments.