Industry OK with proposed changes to seed regulations UPDATED

Friday, March 15, 2013

by DIANNE FETTERLY

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is receiving approval from industry stakeholders for its proposed changes to seed regulations for soybean oilseed and forages.

There are two main recommended amendments to the regulations, which are part of the Seed Act. One change involves the removal of pre-registration testing and merit requirements for forage and soybean oilseed varieties; the other deals with deleting the portion which allows a variety’s registration to be suspended.

In a March 8 press release, the CFIA claims that removing the pre-registration testing would cut costs and get the new seed product into farmers’ hands faster.

According to the CFIA, pre-registration adds another three to five years to the registration process for forages, while soybean oilseed registration would take another one to two years. Pre-testing also adds to the cost, with an extra $1,500 in fees per forage variety and an additional $750 in testing fees for each soybean variety. Forage varieties include alfalfa; bird’s foot trefoil; canary, brome, orchard, rye and wheat grasses; timothy; lupin; forage fescues as well as alsike, red and white clovers.

Marilyn Braun-Pollon, vice-president prairie and agri-business with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business hosts an online petition to draw attention to the stress and frustration affecting agri-business owners and farmers due to red tape and government bureaucracy.

And given that red tape was the top concern for farmers in a CFIB survey, Braun-Pollon said she is pleased that CFIA is removing pre-registration testing.

“It’s a step forward. It will give farmers time to focus on building their businesses and continue to produce high quality food. It’s also important to note that, as to our understanding, the proposed changes will not affect food safety or plant protection,” she explained.

As well, “streamlining seed registrations will result in faster commercialization of the seed varieties and lower costs will encourage investment in the development of new varieties,” she said.

Braun-Pollon added that the federation has been working with CFIA to decrease the amount of red tape faced by agri-businesses and is pleased with the agency’s initiatives over the past couple of years.

“This is one example where CFIA is on the right track,” she said. “But we still have a lot of work to do.”

Grain Farmers of Ontario vice-president, John Cowan represents the group on the government’s value chain round table discussions for the seed sector.

Cowan said GFO was aware of the proposed changes and doesn’t see a problem with them.

“Some of these regulations were put in place 50 or 60 years ago and I’m not sure whether they were serving any great purpose,” he explained.

And he’s not concerned about seed companies producing a lesser product.

“Farmers are pretty knowledgeable today and seed companies know that. They know that farmers will only buy the best and they will bring their best product to the table,” Cowan added.

As for the government’s claim to make new seed varieties available quicker, Cowan explained that GFO doesn’t want to see any new technology delayed to farmers due to government regulations.

The CFIA received input from industry stakeholders while developing the proposed changes, but there is still opportunity to voice opinion.

According to Rod Lister, media relations officer at CFIA, the agency will accept input on the amendments to the seed regulations until May 23, 2013.  For further details, he suggests checking out the federal government’s Canada Gazette, Part 1 where the proposed amendments were printed on March 9. 

“It’s the best source for what’s being done and why,” Lister added. BF

Updated: March 19, 2013

by DIANNE FETTERLY

According to seed growers’ president Dale Connell, changes to the seed regulations published by CFIA in the Canada Gazette on March 9 have the “potential to be positive”.

In the past, CFIA handled 100 percent of the field inspections for seed crops. However, beginning next spring (April 2014), the government will be backing away and there will be a move towards field inspections being completed by private seed inspection services, according to Connell.

While the CFIA will still be involved in the process, a lot of the work could be handled by private inspectors and as long as the government keeps some control, the system should work. A field inspection consists of a walk-through by qualified inspectors before harvest to ensure crop varietal purity, he explained.

The CFIA will be involved in training the inspectors on what to look for and those with more expertise in the field will obviously be better at spotting problems. CFIA will still handle some situations, such as breed select, themselves, Connell explained.

However, changes won’t necessarily happen overnight.

“It will be ongoing . . . a two or three year process. And the government will have to ensure high quality inspection services are in place,” he added.

And while less bureaucracy and time spent in field inspections should result in more efficiency from CFIA’s standpoint, seed producers are already aware that the changes could mean higher costs when they move to more privatized field inspections – possibly even double or triple in costs, Connell concluded.

According to the CFIA, seed in Canada is sold as common or pedigreed seed and both must be registered.  While “common seed must meet basic standards limiting the presence of weed seed or  seed from other crops, pedigreed seed is sold as specific varieties and must be inspected for the presence of weed and other crop seed as well as seed from other varieties of the same crop.” BF