Public Variety Maintenance Panel - PVMP

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• Last Updated on Monday, 22 August 2011 13:22
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ASA was requested by the industry to develop a means to continue in commerce those older public varieties for which there was an ongoing demand for Certified seed, but which the breeder was no longer either willing or able to support via the production of Basic seed. So the ASA Board established the Public Variety Maintenance Panel (PVMP) with the following Terms of Reference and Membership.

Terms of Reference:

1. Examine the results of the annual ASA survey of maintainers of public varieties and identify varieties at risk of being lost through inadequate maintenance procedures.
2. Consult with the seed industry on the outcomes of the ASA survey, identify varieties required for future trade and prioritise actions required to address problems and improve maintenance practices.
3. For those varieties requiring new maintainers, determine in consultation with existing maintainers the technical and other conditions to be met by new maintainers.
4. Manage a tender process to transfer maintenance responsibility for “orphan” varieties required for future trade.
5. Make decisions on tenders and execute variety maintenance contracts with new maintainers; and
6. Foster improved maintenance arrangements for public varieties, including long-term storage in plant genetic resource centres of varieties no longer under active maintenance.
7. Submit an annual report of its activities to the ASA Board by 30 October each year.

Membership:

Members of the PVMP shall be appointed by the Board and shall comprise:

• the CEO of ASA (Convenor)
• 2 nominees of the GPA Seeds Sub-Committee; and
• 2 nominees of the Australian Seed Federation;

To enable half of the members to be appointed every two years, half of the initial members will be appointed for a term of two years with the remainder appointed for four years.

Alternate members with full voting rights shall be nominated by ASF and GPA to replace any full members who declare a conflict of interest and cannot participate in any matter considered by the Panel.

Technical expertise from certification agencies shall be co-opted as required.

ASA conducted on behalf of the PVMP a thorough survey of the public varieties still in commerce to identify those for which there was sufficient demand for certified seed to warrant the process and expense of appointing a new Maintainer to produce Basic seed. Three varieties were identified as meeting the criteria – Haifa white clove, Aurora lucerne and Victorian Perennial Ryegrass.

Expressions of interest were invited from interested individuals or companies in producing Basic seed of these varieties, and new Maintainers were appointed through a Maintenance Agreement between ASA and the companies. These arrangements were reviewed in 2010, and were found to be of advantage to the seed industry, with the companies willing to continue their involvement. However the companies concerned generally said that the arrangement was not particularly profitable for them, but they felt i was o benefit t the industry.