Canada’s pedigreed seed industry is developing a new system for inspecting seed crops.
Beginning next year, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will no longer be directly involved in conducting routine seed crop inspections.
Instead, individuals and companies that have been certified and trained by the CFIA will conduct inspections on a fee-for-service basis. The CFIA will continue to act as the regulatory authority for the seed industry.
“The CFIA will maintain its role as Canada’s national seed authority and will continue to be involved in activities in support of seed crop inspection and certification, including licensing and oversight of private sector delivery of seed crop inspection,” says a document posted on the CFIA website.
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“It is expected that some current seasonal CFIA official seed crop inspectors will be interested in continuing to provide crop inspection services to seed growers after their employment term with the CFIA ends.”
The agency said it conducts seed crop inspections on 16,000 fields and one million acres of pedigreed seed crops a year.
It has previously employed 120 seasonal crop inspectors and 80 full-time inspectors to provide the services. Next year, private sector inspectors will take over.
The move to private sector inspections was prompted by budget cutting measures announced in the federal government’s 2012 budget.
It remains to be seen how much pedigreed seed growers will pay for inspection services under the new system.
CFIA inspections were not conducted on a cost-recovery basis, meaning costs were subsidized.
Under the new system, private sector inspectors must be licensed by the CFIA. Two types of licences will be available:
- An authorized seed crop inspection service (ASCIS) is a business, organization or third-party entity that is licensed to conduct inspections in a specific region. Each ASCIS must commit to providing a pre-determined number of inspections within its region each year. An ASCIS is not permitted to refuse a request for service unless it has exceeded its minimum required number of inspections.
- A licensed seed crop inspector (LSCI) is an individual that has been trained and certified by the CFIA to conduct in-field inspections. LSCIs must conduct inspections on behalf of a registered ASCIS.
