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Improved Maintenance and Production
of Basic Seed for Public Pasture Varietiesby John Blackstock and Marcia Taylor
June 2007
RIRDC Publication No 07/088 RIRDC Project No AUA-1A
The Australian Seeds Authority Limited (ASA), which has been licensed to administer the OECD Seed Schemes in Australia, has collaborated with the seed industry to determine the maintenance status of all public varieties, establish processes to identify and correct deficiencies in variety maintenance procedures and transfer to industry entities the maintenance responsibility for public varieties that are needed for future trade but which would not be further maintained by current maintainers.
Who is the report targeted
at?
This project was undertaken
by ASA to ensure that the majority of Australian pasture seed producers
and many seed marketers who rely partly or wholly on access to public varieties
can continue to benefit from access to reliable supplies of Basic Seed
of public varieties and continued access for these varieties to export
markets that require Certified Seed.
Background
Fifty five countries, including
Australia, participate in the OECD Seed Schemes for the Varietal Certification
of Seed Moving in International Trade. Standardised Rules for the production,
processing and labelling of Certified Seed are designed to facilitate international
trade in seed and contribute to the removal of technical trade barriers.
Plant varieties must remain under active maintenance to be eligible for certification under the OECD and Australian certification schemes. The maintenance system must ensure that varietal characters are preserved and that sufficient supplies of Breeders or Pre-Basic Seed are retained to meet the demand for Basic Seed for the anticipated life of the variety.
A preliminary survey of variety maintainers in 2005 revealed that maintenance of public varieties by most public sector maintainers was given a low priority and that most public varieties were not under active maintenance and would become ineligible for certification unless appropriate maintenance procedures were resumed or new maintainers appointed.
Aims/Objectives
The aims of the project
were to complete a survey of maintainers of Australian public varieties
certified under the OECD Seed Schemes, work with maintainers to correct
inadequate maintenance plans, consult with the seed industry to identify
public varieties required for future trade and establish a process to transfer
to industry entities the maintenance responsibility for public varieties
needed for future trade but which could not be further maintained by current
public sector maintainers.
Methods used
Public sector institutions
responsible for maintenance of public varieties were provided with a survey
form seeking responses to a series of questions about the maintenance status
of the relevant varieties, guidance on how to answer the questions and
advice on how the information would be used. The data was compiled in a
report for industry consultation.
ASA in collaboration with the Grains Council of Australia Seeds Sub-Committee (GCA) and the Australian Seed Federation (ASF) established the Public Variety Maintenance Panel (PVMP) in November 2005 to undertake seed industry consultation on the results of variety maintenance surveys, to prioritise actions required to address variety maintenance problems, and to manage a tender process to transfer maintenance responsibility for “orphan” varieties that are required for future trade but which will no longer be maintained by existing maintainers.
In May 2006, the PVMP provided the results of the survey to all producers of certified seed, and all ASF members and variety maintainers and invited industry feedback on the survey results by 30 June 2006. After assessing feedback, the PVMP circulated a further report to industry in August 2006 on the outcome of industry consultation and its recommendations to the ASA Board on varieties which should be deleted from the OECD and/or Australian lists of varieties eligible for certification and those which should be retained on the lists pending further consultation with maintainers.
The PVMP also established and implemented a process to transfer to industry entities the maintenance responsibility for important varieties which could not be maintained by existing maintainers. This involved the PVMP liaising with the existing maintainer of the variety to determine the technical and other conditions to be met by the new maintainer, managing a transparent tender process of calling for expressions of interest from parties interested in taking over the variety maintenance responsibility, implementing a rigorous process of assessing written expressions of interest, and executing with the selected new maintainer a variety maintenance agreement based on legal advice obtained by ASA.
Results/Key findings
After reviewing the industry feedback, the PVMP reported to the ASA Board in September 2006 and identified:
Where there are legitimate
industry objections to current maintenance practices or maintainer intentions
to cease active maintenance and/or de-list varieties required for future
trade, ASA will follow up with the maintainers concerned to negotiate appropriate
solutions. The ASA Board has endorsed recommendations from the PVMP on
priorities for this work.
The PVMP was commissioned by the public sector maintainers of the white clover variety Haifa, lucerne variety Aurora, perennial ryegrass variety Victorian and kikuyu varieties Whittet and Noonan to transfer variety maintenance and Basic Seed production responsibility for the varieties. The transfer process was completed for Haifa white clover in June 2006 when a variety maintenance agreement between ASA and Naracoorte Seeds Pty Ltd, (the selected new maintainer), was executed in June 2006. Completion of the transfer process for Victorian perennial ryegrass is expected in December 2006 and for Aurora lucerne in March 2007.
The variety maintenance agreement between ASA and Naracoorte Seeds Pty Ltd for Haifa white clover provides a model agreement which can be adapted as required by ASA to meet specific requirements for other varieties. The agreement was based on the conditions specified in the call for expressions of interest, subsequent negotiations between ASA and Naracoorte Seeds Pty Ltd, and legal advice from a legal firm engaged by ASA.
Implications and recommendations
The variety maintenance
survey completed in this project revealed that maintenance of public varieties
by public sector maintainers is often given a low priority and that many
public varieties are not under active maintenance and will become ineligible
for certification unless appropriate maintenance procedures are resumed
or new maintainers appointed.
The outcome of greatest importance
to the Australian seed industry is that the industry now has the means
of determining the maintenance status of public varieties, undertaking
industry consultation to determine priorities for corrective actions and
transferring to new maintainers the maintenance responsibility for important
varieties no longer able to be maintained by existing public sector institutions.
To achieve a more professional approach to variety maintenance and to ensure
market access for Certified Seed of important varieties required for future
national and international trade, recommended that ASA continues to give
a high priority to the conduct of variety maintenance surveys, at least
every three years, and the on-going work of the PVMP.
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