The future of variety registration

The future of Canada’s variety registration system was the foremost issue at this year’s PRRCG meeting. The entire system is under federal review and major changes are expected in 2003.

Who should decide which crop varieties farmers can grow?

This fundamental question cuts to the heart of a debate swirling around proposed changes to Canada’s variety registration system, which provided the major focal point for discussion at this year’s Prairie Registration Recommending Committee for Grain (PRRCG) meeting in Winnipeg.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which oversees variety registration, has proposed a major overhaul of the entire system, with changes expected by spring or summer 2003. For the PRRCG — a group of plant breeders, crop experts and industry representatives who recommend Prairie crop lines for CFIA approval — the 2002 meeting in Winnipeg provided its last chance to formally review and respond to the CFIA proposal, before the implementation process kicks into high gear this fall.

Currently, most crop varieties are recommended for registration based on merit in agronomic, disease and quality performance. Chief among the CFIA’s recommended changes is a proposal to remove agronomic merit as a requirement for variety registration. This would include major grains such as wheat and barley.

The proposals could dramatically reduce the role for PRRCG and other recommending bodies. Specifically, the recommended changes include removing a large number of crops from the variety registration “with merit” category and placing them into a mandatory listing system, where the main requirement for registration is providing descriptive information so varieties can be recognized for crop and seed certification purposes.

The proposed changes stem from a major review of the variety registration system commissioned by CFIA in 1998/99. Stakeholders, ranging from farmers to seed companies to public research scientists, generally concluded that the number of crops subject to the current merit system should be reduced and new ways found to make the system more cost-effective and less complex.

While the debate surrounding these changes continues, the process toward implementation is well underway. The initial review recommendations were revised based on feedback, which resulted in an updated proposal in fall of 2000. Since then the CFIA has been consulting with all interest groups to refine the proposal and carry out the process, expected to be fully completed soon after the PRRCG meets again next year — a meeting that will take place for the last time under the current system.

The role of PRRCG

Despite the current state of flux, there is no doubt that the PRRCG currently holds a pivotal position in the variety development system, with broad impact on the multi-billion dollar crop industry in Western Canada.

On the surface, the PRRCG is solely a recommending body — it has no legal authority to register crop varieties. The PRRCG’s mandate from CFIA is to assess the crop lines forwarded for registration and make recommendations on which ones should be approved for registration. This includes administering pre-registration tests.

The CFIA’s Variety Registration Office has the ultimate authority for registering varieties. But since it relies heavily on the PRRCG in its decision-making process, the PRRCG has come to be viewed as the major gatekeeper for the registration of crop lines in several key categories for the Prairies. Its mandate covers four crop areas, represented by subcommittees:

• Wheat, Rye and Triticale Subcommittee
• Barley and Oat Subcommittee
• Pulse and Special Crops Subcommittee
• Oilseeds Subcommittee

(Canola is not under the auspices of the PRRCG, but has its own recommending body — the Western Canada Canola / Rapeseed Recommending Committee.)

The PRRCG includes nearly all the region’s crop development researchers, along with representatives from key segments of the industry. This group evaluates new crop lines, based on criteria such as agronomic performance, disease resistance and market quality, and then votes on which to recommend for registration.

The PRRCG was formed as a stand-alone committee at arm’s length from government and other organizations. Every five years the CFIA’s Variety Registration Office reviews the committee’s work, operating procedures and policies as a basis for continuing to recognize the group as a recommending body.

The major changes expected in 2003

The role of the PRRCG could change dramatically with the CFIA’s proposed changes to the variety registraion system. These changes cover several key points.

Mandatory listing system. Mandatory registration would be required for seed of all agricultural crops, as well as for all agricultural plants with novel traits (PNTs). The registration requirement for all crops would include a complete listing of essential information on each variety - including variety name, pedigree information and description.

Agronomic merit no longer a requirement. Agronomic performance would no longer be a part of mandatory merit assessment for any crop.

Three crop schedules with different requirements. Crops would fall under three schedules.

• Schedule A crops would retain merit as a requirement. As proposed, the criteria would include only quality and/or disease resistance, plus a minimum of one year of performance information. Schedule A crops would include major crops such as wheat, canola, barley, rye, triticale, oat, mustard, pea and sunflower.
• Schedule B crops would not require any merit assessment. But they would require a minimum of one year of performance information to be available at the time of registration.
• Schedule C crops would require neither merit assessment nor performance testing information.

Reduced role for PRRCG and other recommending bodies. Only committees with a mandate for Schedule A crops — which retain merit requirements for disease resistance and quality — would continue to be formally recognized by CFIA. This would result in the elimination of many recommending committees and dramatically reduce the scope of many others. The number of committees recognized by CFIA would be reduced from 20 to six.

Imports must continue to meet Canadian standards. Schedule A varieties from other countries could be imported only if they meet Canadian registration requirements.

Organics receive equal treatment. Varieties produced organically would be subject to the same registration requirements as crops produced under traditional crop management practices.

The PRRCG response

The 2002 meeting was the first chance for the PRRCG’s four subcommittees to formally comment on the CFIA’s proposed changes. Their responses will be considered by CFIA, along with feedback from other interest groups across the country, as time winds down to finalize the proposal and proceed with full implementation.

The major discussion point at the meeting was the CFIA’s recommendation to remove agronomic merit as a requirement for registration. In general, those opposed to the recommendation cited concerns that the change would reduce the availability of good agronomic data, making it difficult for both researchers and farmers to select the best crop lines. They argued this would lead to an overall weakening of agronomic performance in Canadian crops. Those in favour argued that removing this requirement will streamline the registration process, open up the market for new varieties, add flexibility for crop innovations, and ultimately give farmers more choice and more say in which crops they could grow.

In the end, several subcommittee motions were passed in support of retaining the agronomic merit criterion in some form, particularly for major Schedule A grain crops such as wheat, barley and oat.

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