Agro-Industry: Setting up of a National plant variety and seeds office

A National Plant Variety and Seeds Office will regulate the seeds industry, mainly the cultivation, production, trade, exportation and importation of seeds of any variety of any kind of plant. It will also be responsible for the registration of seeds varieties, seeds testing, seeds inspection and seeds certification. This announcement has been made by the Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, in a workshop to enable the finalisation of the remaining seeds regulations and the eventual proclamation of the Seeds Act.

The Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, underlined that in order to guarantee access to the quantity and quality of seeds needed, a system must be put in place to safeguard plant genetic resource management, national varietal development programs and linkages with regional and international research facilities. In modern agriculture, high quality seeds and planting materials of improved varieties play a pivotal role in increasing productivity, profitability and sustainability of crop production programmes, he added.

According to the Minister, a strong seeds system with linkages between all stakeholders is therefore essential for delivering quality seeds and improved crop varieties which in turn are crucial for global food security. Moreover, he stressed that national seeds services must also be strengthened and seeds rules and regulations harmonised at the sub-regional and regional levels to facilitate the trade in seeds.

Policies should also be developed and strengthened through the involvement of relevant stakeholders, both public and private, to ensure the development of entrepreneurial capacity in the seed industry enterprises, Mr Seeruttun said adding that Mauritius has timidly embarked on a few projects to improve seeds quality but not much has been achieved.

He recalled that the Barkly Experimental Station, in collaboration with Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute, has embarked on the Quality Declared Seeds (QDS) scheme as established by Food and Agriculture Organization. The QDS scheme, he underlined provides an alternative for seeds quality assurance, particularly designed for countries with limited resources, which is less demanding than full seeds quality control and certification systems but yet guarantees a satisfactory level of seed quality.

Regional integration and international trade, together with scientific advances in the area of biotechnology have posed additional challenges and the local industry needs to quickly adapt to the changing environment in order to remain competitive both locally and regionally, underscored the Minister, adding that we need to venture into unchartered territories and find new avenues for this sector.

The Agro-Industry and Food Security Ministry is committed to redress the present situation and to give a new impetus to this sector which has a brilliant future and which can position Mauritius as a key player for the region, stated Mr Seeruttun.