Production of seed units of agricultural plants

Applicants who wish to pursue this activity must register the business activity, and have the appropriate legal status.

Persons liable to enter in the register of suppliers of seed units of agricultural plants (SEME register) are natural or legal entities who pursue the activity of production, market preparation, marketing or import of the seed units of agricultural plants in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia.

The entry in the SEME register is not mandatory for suppliers who exclusively pursue the distribution and sale of seed units of agricultural plants in the original packaging.

To enter in the register, a supplier must provide a person who fulfils prescribed conditions in terms of professional qualification and who will be responsible for the fulfilment of prescribed liabilities of the supplier (responsible expert person). If a supplier is a natural entity, he himself may also be a responsible expert person.

A supplier pursuing the activity of producing seed units of agricultural plants must be as an agricultural holding entered in the register of agricultural holdings.

An application must be lodged with the competent authority to enter in the SEME register. The application must include the identification data on the supplier, activity of the supplier and identification data on the responsible expert person. If a supplier pursues the activity at different locations of productions, the above-stated data for each individual location of production must be included in the application.

Details

A supplier must provide that the agricultural plant seed fulfils the prescribed conditions in the market. A supplier must, in particular:

implement the inspections to monitor and control crucial points of production of seed units of agricultural plants that could have an impact on its quality (in particular on variety or species presence and purity and health status); implement measures necessary to prevent the expansion of pests; take samples and send them for a laboratory analysis; provide traceability and recognition of every group of seed units of agricultural plants; keep records and evidence on the origin and quality of the seed units of agricultural plants; keep records and evidence on the purchase and sale or supply of seed units of agricultural plants; provide the implementation of supervision; implement prescribed measures, ordered according to official or inspection supervision. 

A supplier must keep all certificates and records from the previous paragraph for at least a year, and for fruit plants, vine, hops and multi-annual ornamental plants for at least three years.

Evidence

Records and other documentation on the inspections, conducted measures and traceability which is appropriately kept.

Legal basis

• Agricultural Seeds and Propagating Material Act (ZSMKR)
• Livestock Farming Act (ZŽiv)

The national variety list is an official list of varieties of agricultural plants.

The seed units of the varieties of agricultural plants entered in the national variety list of one of the European Union Member States or the common catalogue of varieties of the European Union, kept by the European Commission (the entry is not mandatory for ornamental plants) may be produced (with the marketing purpose) and marketed in the Republic of Slovenia.

The procedure of entering a variety in the national variety list is initiated on the basis of a written application with the competent authority.

An application for the entry in the national variety list may be lodged by an applicant who is a variety breeder or maintainer, or other natural or legal entity who has the right to dispose the variety's seed units.

The prescribed deadlines must be taken into account when entering the application of the variety in the procedure of entering in the national variety list.

The variety must be distinct, uniform and stable and also have an appropriate name to be entered in the national variety list. For this purpose, the variety must be included in appropriate variety field tests for the verification of distinctness, uniformity and stability (RIN), while in varieties of field crops, vines and hops the variety test also verify their value for the production and use (VPU).

If a variety fulfils all conditions for the entry in the national variety list and the applicant also settles fee costs, the Administration issues the decision on the entry of the variety in the national variety list.

The maintainer of the sort must pay the annual fee for the variety entered in the national variety list as per the Decree on the annual fee for varieties entered in the Agricultural Plant Variety List and on fees and costs for plant variety protection.

At the request of the Administration, the maintainer of the variety is obliged to provide a free-of-charge sample of the seed units of the variety to verify the proper maintenance of the variety.

Due to the preservation of biotic variety or sustainable use of genetic resources, also a variety may be entered in the national variety list which does not fulfil all conditions for the entry in the national variety list, if it refers to the preservation of a variety of field crops and vegetables, variety of vegetable which has no important value for market production of vegetable or old variety of fruit plants.

The varieties entered in the national variety list are included in the common catalogue of varieties of the European Union by the European Commission.

Details

A supplier who intends to market the seed units of a specific agricultural plant species as officially confirmed must lodge an application for the official confirmation of the seed units with the certifying authority.

In the procedure of the official confirmation, the certifying authority establishes if the seed units fulfil the prescribed requirements.

The official confirmation is mandatory for the production of the seeds of cereals, fodder plants, beetroot, oil and fibre plants, seed potato, reproduction material and saplings of fruit plants and vine, but not mandatory for the production of vegetable seeds, reproduction material and saplings of vine plants.

For confirmation, the authority implements the procedure of official confirmation of seed units, if a variety stated in the application:

• in field crops, vegetables, vine and hops: is entered in a variety list or the common catalogue of field crop varieties;
• in other agricultural plant species: entered in a variety list or protected as per the regulations governing the protection of new plant varieties, or generally known.

The procedure of the official confirmation of seed units of agricultural plants consists of:

• official examinations of seed crops or plantations, land and facilities for production, storage and preparation of seed units of agricultural plants for the market;
• official examinations of evidence and documents which should be kept by the supplier of seed unit;
• official samplings and sample testing.

A supplier must cover the costs of the official confirmation as per the price list of the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia.

If during the official procedure the certification authority establishes that the seed units fulfil the prescribed requirements, it issues the prescribed official labels for respective category, appropriately implements the packaging and issues a certificate on the official confirmation of the seed units of agricultural plants.

The deadlines, method of lodging an application, evidence, which should be attached to the application for the acquisition of the confirmation of seed units for the seeds of cereals, vegetables, oil and fibre plants, fodder plants and beetroot, seed potato, fruit plants, ornamental plants, vine and hops are defined in the rules in detail.

Details

Reproduction and planting material must fulfil the requirements regarding the health status, variety and quality. Reproduction and planting material must be at least on the basis of a visual inspection without pests and diseases which could affect its quality or without any signs or symptoms of the presence of pests which reduce its applicability. Reproduction and planting material must have suitable presence and purity regarding the species or genus which it belongs to and be authentic and pure in terms of variety. It must be undamaged, properly vital and of dimensions allowing it to be used as a reproduction and planting material. The supervision over the reproduction and planting material is conducted by the phytosanitary inspectors. To provide the compliance of the reproduction material they carry out:

 

supervision over suppliers who have the permit to issue labels and certificates of the supplier on the basis of annual inspections at the suppliers; random inspections of all suppliers entered in the register of suppliers for production, market preparation or marketing of reproduction and planting material; subsequent control of reproduction and planting material in the market.

Evidence

Official supervision of suppliers and production

Legal basis

• Agricultural Seeds and Propagating Material Act (ZSMKR)
• Rules on the marketing of vegetable propagation and planting material other than seeds
• Rules on the marketing of propagating material of ornamental plants
• Rules on the marketing of fruit plant propagating material and fruit plants intended for fruit production
• Rules on the marketing of hop propagating and planting material
• Rules on the marketing of material for the vegetative propagation of vine