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News from the National Seed Program of Egypt

New Director for Central Adminstration for Seed Certification
Mr Ahmed Mohamed Hussein became the Director General of the Central Administration for Seed Certification and Testing (CASC) from January 2002 after the retirement of Mr Fawzy Shaheen at the end of 2001. CASC is an independent organization responsible for seed quality control, certification and law enforcement. It has five general directorates: (1) Field Inspection, Testing and Retesting, (2) Seed Testing Affairs in the Governorates, (3) Seed Certification; (4) Gins and Oil Mills; and (5) Seed Measures and Development. The main responsibilities are implementing variety registration and plant variety protection; seed certification; seed market control and law enforcement; licensing of seed producers, processors, traders and dealers; and seed industry support, training and promotion. CASC also serves as a technical secretariat for variety registration, crop seed and other specialized councils and their sub-committees (Seed Council, Cotton Council).
        CASC administers seed certification and law enforcement units through 22 regional seed certification directorates and 12 seed testing stations. Control plot testing is carried out in two locations to ensure quality of seed lots used for further multiplication and to monitor the efficiency of seed certification.

Ministerial Decree for Testing Vegetable Varieties
The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform issued a Ministerial Decree No 1648 of 2001 for testing new vegetable varieties imported from the OECD countries.
       The Ministry after reviewing: (a) Agriculture Law No 52 of 1966 and its amendments, (b) Ministerial Decree No 52 of 1998 for registration of agricultural crop varieties; and (c) Ministerial Decree No 1064 of 1995, has decreed to:
1. Exempt vegetable crop varieties imported from OECD member countries from the Ministerial Decree No 1064 of 1995 which determines agricultural crops on which clause No 10 of chapter 2 of the Agriculture Law No 52 of 1966 applies
2. Test vegetable crop varieties imported from OECD member countries for adaptation and pest resistance for the following periods:
(a) One year for hybrid varieties grown in greenhouses
(b) Two similar and consecutive seasons for varieties grown in open fields
        Salah Abd El Wanis, Consultant, Egyptian-German Cotton Sector Promotion Program (CSPP), c/o GTZ office, 4 D, El Gezira Street, Zamalek, Cairo 11211, Egypt; Fax: ++20-2-3365415; E-mail: cspp@idsc.gov.eg

Pakistan to Boost Horticultural Seed Production
The Pakistan seed industry has made significant progress in commercialization of seed of wheat, rice, maize, sunflower and cotton over the last 25 years. However, the horticulture seed industry, especially for vegetable seed continues to depend on imports. The government has established a Horticultural Export Board to devise and implement an export-oriented marketing strategy to increase horticultural exports from $119 million to over $600 million by 2003-4. Such a strategy can only be achieved by providing good quality planting material to increase production and product quality to compete in the international market.
        Despite suitable climatic conditions to produce various vegetable seed, imports remain at a high level. During 1999-2000, the country imported 3,553.5 tonnes of vegetable seed valued at over Rs 347 million. Although national seed companies have been trying to produce okra and pea seed locally, they face serious competition in marketing their seed from indiscriminate import by traders.
        In North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the Project for Horticulture Promotion (PHP) is collaborating with the regional office of the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department (FSCRD) to organize certified vegetable seed production with smallholders' associations in the province. The project aimed also at improving the livelihood of these small farmers through increased production and income adding value to their product. PHP and NWFP Seed Council approved one variety each of okra, onion, radish and pea to facilitate seed production and supply.  Moreover, there are efforts by Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department in conducting variety registration of fruit crops. The organization of formal variety registration and quality control is expected to improve fruit production resulting in increased income of farmers and better quality fruits on the market.
        In another development, the Agribusiness Conference held in April 2001 in Islamabad has recommended the introduction of a Biodiversity Law and Plant Breeder's Rights Act to take advantage of biotechnology, protect the breeder's rights and stimulate the seed industry. (Editor's Note: This information is extracted from The Seed News, April- June 2001)