Seeds and plants of the main cultivated vegetal species are subject to regulations, harmonized at the European level. There are also equivalences with a certain number of third countries.
The official control and marketing of seeds in countries of the European Union
To be commercialized in the European Union, seeds of the major crops are subject to "product" certification. This certification, official and obligatory, is put in place by the public authorities of each state.
In France the Ministry of Agriculture has delegated official control and certification to the SOC (Official Service for Seed Control and Certification, ) the technical service of the GNIS.
The French regulatory framework is the adaptation into French law of the European directives concerning seed commercialization and certification.
Relevant European Directives
- 2002/53/EC catalogue directive of varieties of agricultural plant species
- 2002/54/EC marketing directive of beet seed,
- 66/401/EC marketing directive of fodder plant seed,
- 66/402/EEC marketing directive of cereal seed,
- 2002/56/EC marketing directive of seed potatoes,
- 2002/57/EC marketing directive of seed of oil and fibre plants,
- 2002/55/EC marketing directive of vegetable seed (see below),
- 2008/62/EC acceptance of agricultural landraces and varieties which are naturally adapted to the local and regional conditions and threatened by genetic erosion and for marketing of seed and seed potatoes of those landraces and varieties.
French Regulatory Textes
- Decree N°81-605 of 18 may 1981 extends to the seed sector a 1905 law on the repression of fraud (in french).
The law requires that only seeds registered in the official catalogue can be commercialized. It sets out the main principles of the catalogue and of certification, and defines the rules for labelling and packaging.
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- "Le catalogue officiel des espèces et variétés" is the official French catalogue of species and varieties. In application of the EU directive 2002/53/EC each member state has its own catalogue. The sum of the items in the national catalogues constitutes the European catalogue of varieties that can be commercialized throughout the Union.
- Ministerial Orders of 15 September 1982 on the commercialization of seeds and plants by species or groups of species.
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- These ministerial orders set out the standard seeds. The quality attested by the certificate must be maintained until the seed is purchased by the end user. The orders also lay down the rules for packaging and labelling.
- General technical regulations approved by ministerial order on the production, control and certification of seeds.
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- Seed certification is the end result of continuous control allowing the SOC to ascertain that seeds:
- respect a fixed level of varietal or genetic purity, in accordance with these general principles:
o filiation
o stability of varietal traits throughout successive multiplications.
o Correct conditions during multiplication.
- respect technological and sanitary standards
Technical regulations set out:
- Rules to be respected by companies applying for approval to produce seeds,
- Production conditions and organization,
- Rules and standards for crops,
- Standards required for seed batches;
- SOC control procedures for crops and batches.
- Seed certification is the end result of continuous control allowing the SOC to ascertain that seeds:
- General technical regulations approved by ministerial order on the production, control and certification of plants.
- Supplementary technical regulations approved by ministerial order on the production, control and certification of seeds or plants by species or groups of species.
Certified seeds and plants are controlled by the SOC in the production plots and in the seed companies' factories.
Production plots are put in place by farmers applying a growing contract.
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- The growing contract forms the basis of the relationship between the grower and the seed establishment, two of the most important professions of the sector.
This written document has two parts: a specific document signed by the two parties and a framework convention which both parties agree to.
The contract is private: both parties are free to sign or not and they can negotiate the details, such as particular technical requirements and consequent extra remuneration.
The framework convention is the legal structure approved by Ministerial Order and regularly updated by the Gnis. It fixes notably the obligations of the breeder and grower to each other as well as the methods for agreeing on the crop and paying for it. Particular clauses in the contract cannot be in contradiction with the framework convention.
The contract must be declared to the Gnis. This sets in motion the process of the declaration of the cultivation, necessary for official controls of plots by the SOC.
Finally, the Gnis verifies the good application of the framework convention. In cases of conflict, the Gnis will put in place procedures for an amicable solution.
- The growing contract forms the basis of the relationship between the grower and the seed establishment, two of the most important professions of the sector.
Certification aims to guarantee:
- varietal identity and varietal purity
- technological quality ( minimum germination faculty, specific purity...)
- sanitary quality ( notably potatoes, sunflower seeds )
Seed certification is attested by the affixation on all packaging of an official control certificate.
Example of an official control certificate put on seeds and certified plant packaging.
Each certificate has a unique number.
Thanks to the recording by the SOC of the information on each certificate, it is possible to retrace the history of the seeds in the packaging: this is traceability.
Conservation varieties ( primitive breeds and varieties naturally adapted to local conditions and threatened by genetic attrition.)
Special measures allow the registration, production and marketing of conservation varieties....
Two technical regulations cover these seeds and plants, providing for the sustainable use of such genetic resources:
- Technical regulation for examination of conservation varieties (in french)
- Technical regulation for production and control of conservation varieties seed of field crops (in french)
Vegetable Seeds
Vegetable species are covered specifically by directive 2002 /55 /CE which deals with registration in the catalogue as well as purely seed aspects. The directive provides for seeds to be marketed either under the category " certified" or "standard." The latter classification is more frequent. In this case, the notice " standard seeds, EU regulations and standards" is marked directly on the packaging, or on the the commercial label if there is no official certificate. The SOC controls standard seeds by sampling after packaging.
Recognition for non-EU countries
A certain number of non-EU countries have developed a seed sector. Having subscribed to the OECD seeds system, they have requested the European authorities to recognize their official system of seed control as equivalent to that of the European Union. When this recognition is granted, controlled seeds from these countries can be freely marketed in the Union, from the moment the variety concerned appears in the Community Catalogue.
Protection of vegetal breeds
Creators of new varieties can protect their rights. This protection is attested by a title of property called a " vegetal breed certificate." This prevents anyone else from producing or commercializing seeds of the variety without the express agreement of the owner.
This system of protection is original and quite distinct from a patent, as it allows the use of protected varieties in experiments and selection with a view to creating new ones, without requiring the agreement of the owner; this is intended to stop possible monopolies and especially to encourage genetic progress.
For 21 species, European regulations allows exemptions to this right. Thus for varieties protected by a European certificate, farmers can produce farm seeds from these species without asking authorization from the breeder, but must pay. In France, for the moment, only soft wheat is concerned by this exception. Since 2001, farmers pay the creators of wheat varieties a contribution based on the crop commercialized.
Main legislation
- International convention for plant variety protection UPOV-1961, rev 1978 and 1991
- Regulation EC 2100/94 :
Council regulation (EC) No 2100/94 of 27 July 1994 on Community plant variety rights.
- French intellectual property regulation: Articles L 623.1 to L 623.35 (in french)
Réglementation semences sur Internet
- Many text references from the JO France on french seed regulation since 1999 on the website of the fraud services DGCCRF.
- Community plant variety office (CPVO)
Several texts and EC directives references on seed marketing and plant variety protection on the Sicasov website (in the regulation part).