BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 13. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has approved the law "On seed production".
The text of the document has been published on the official website of the President of Azerbaijan.
The law aims to improve the regulatory legal framework in the field, taking into account the requirements of the modern era, the introduction of new economic, control, and support mechanisms, as well as the need to deepen reforms in the agricultural sector.
A number of new concepts related to seed production activities have been included in the law, and the existing concepts are clarified in accordance with their essence.
The goals and principles of seed production are defined in detail, and the scope of objects and subjects of the field is clarified. At the same time, the law envisages the alignment of seed quality control and certification with international practice, clearly defining the powers and responsibilities of seed inspectors, the processes of seed processing, utilization, destruction, packaging, and labeling.
The document envisages the creation of a new electronic registry in the field of seed production, the digital registration of seed operators, the collection of information on selection achievements, seed plantings, and concluded contracts in a single information system.
In addition, the law updates the economic foundations of the seed sector. Thus, under the current law, high-yield seeds were produced on a quota basis, which hindered competition in a market economy. Involving the private sector in the production of high-yield original and elite seeds will create a competitive environment in this area, creating conditions for the development of private selection and private primary seed production.
At the same time, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the application of the law "On seed production" and amendments to some related decrees. According to the decree, the Cabinet of Ministers must approve the following regulatory legal acts within five months and inform the President of the country:
- the procedure for implementing state control in the field of seed production; - the procedure for recognizing the equivalence of technical regulatory legal acts of a foreign trade partner country in the field of seed production to the same technical regulatory legal acts applied in Azerbaijan, if provided for in international agreements to which Azerbaijan is a party;
- amounts of service fees;
- the procedure for collecting information in order to study the state of seed production in the country, the procedure for monitoring, analyzing, evaluating, and forecasting the effectiveness of management;
- a description and sample of seed inspectors' certificates;
- the procedure for managing risks in the field of seed production;
- the procedure for registering seed operators in the information resource in the field of selection and seed production;
- the amount of compensation for costs incurred for seeds and seed crops destroyed as a result of the prevention and elimination of the spread of harmful organisms and the procedure for their payment;
- the distribution and use of funds collected from fines imposed by the Ministry of Agriculture (including fines imposed on administrative offense cases for which a protocol on an administrative offense was drawn up by it and sent to the court for consideration) and transferred to the account of that Ministry in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses for violation of the requirements of the legislation on seed production;
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture must approve the following normative legal acts and provide the information to the head of state within three months:
- rules for the production, processing, packaging, labeling, transportation, supply, storage, import, export, utilization, neutralization, and destruction of seeds;
- rules for determining and certifying the varietal and sowing qualities of seeds;
- rules for conducting field control of seed crops and organizing the activities of field inspectors;
- the quantity (mass) of seeds imported for the purpose of demonstration at exhibitions and conducting farm trials by legal entities and individuals in their own crops.
