At the round table "The current state of seed production in the Russian Federation: factors that constrain and stimulate the development of the industry" with the participation of representatives of the legislative and executive authorities, the scientific agricultural community, business, industry unions, expert organizations, etc., they discussed the legislative framework for seed production and the state of the industry, reports official website of the Eurasian Center for Food Security.
Opening the round table, Nadezhda Shkolkina, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues, noted: “In my opinion, it was after all these discussions that the decision was made to launch a new subprogram “Vegetable Breeding and Seed Production” in 2023 as part of the federal scientific and technical program. Approaches to the development and implementation in practice of new domestic hybrids and seed varieties are being reviewed - now business and consumers will form the terms of reference for science, and the result will be evaluated by the fields sown with these seeds.
She also drew attention to the fact that the regulations for the work of the State Variety Commission have been adjusted, including to simplify the procedure and reduce the time for inclusion in the State Register of breeding achievements approved for the use of varieties and hybrids of agricultural crops.
Separately, the parliamentarian dwelled on the law “On seed production”. “It was not possible to shift its term of entry as a whole, but it was possible to postpone the terms of entry for individual articles. If the law itself enters into force on September 1, 2023, then the articles relating to “Production, storage, and use of seeds of agricultural plants”, “State Register of Varieties and Hybrids of Agricultural Plants Approved for Use” - from September 1, 2024, and the article “ Testing of varieties and hybrids, evaluation of agricultural plants” – from September 1, 2025,” Nadezhda Shkolkina listed.
The round table participants discussed measures of state support for domestic seed production, financial and economic factors affecting its development, changes in requirements in the production and sale of domestic seed material to ensure the sustainable development of agriculture and the agro-industrial complex in modern conditions, technical support for the industry, etc. Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, the expert community were heard at the meeting.
The proposals made at the round table will be considered in the development of legislative documents in the field of agro-industrial complex.