Pursuant to …;

Issuing Regulations on Recognition of New Agricultural Crop Varieties

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THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Pursuant to Decree No. 86/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 18, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to the Plant Variety Law No. 15/2004/PL-UBTVQH11 dated March 24, 2004 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

At the proposal of the Director of the Crop Production Department,

DECISION:

Article 1. These Regulations are promulgated together with this Decision titled "Regulations on Recognition of New Agricultural Crop Varieties."

Article 2. This Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and shall replace Decision No. 19/2006/QĐ-BNN dated March 21, 2006 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on the Examination, Trial Production, Recognition, and Naming of New Agricultural Crop Varieties.

Article 3. The Heads of the Ministry's Office, the Director of the Crop Production Department, the Head of the Science and Technology Department, the Directors of the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of provinces and centrally-administered cities, and the heads of organizations and individuals concerned shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

 

REGULATIONS

On Recognition of New Agricultural Crop Varieties

(Issued pursuant to Decision No.: 95/2007/QĐ-BNN, dated November 27, 2007)

of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development)

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Part 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and Applicability

Article 1. These Regulations prescribe the procedures and formalities for examination, trial production, recognition, and naming of new agricultural crop varieties selected and created domestically or imported for inclusion in the list of permitted crop varieties for production and trade.

Article 2. These Regulations apply to organizations and individuals involved in activities related to the examination, trial production, recognition, and naming of new agricultural crop varieties.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

In these Regulations, the following terms have the meanings given below:

1. Examination of New Crop Varieties means the process of monitoring and evaluating to determine the distinctiveness, uniformity, stability, agronomic value, and utility of a crop variety under specific conditions and time periods.

2. National Examination (Official Testing) means the form of examination conducted by institutions designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (hereinafter referred to as examination institutions) for new varieties of major crops listed in the main crop directory.

3. Breeder Examination (Breeder Testing) means the form of examination carried out by organizations or individuals who select or import varieties themselves or contract with examination institutions to conduct examinations for new varieties of crops not included in the main crop directory.

4. DUS Examination (Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability) means the process of evaluating the distinctiveness, uniformity, and stability of new crop varieties according to the DUS testing standards for each crop species.

5. VCU Examination (Value of Cultivation and Use) means the process of evaluating the agronomic value and utility of new varieties such as yield, quality, disease resistance, adverse conditions, and seed production capacity according to the VCU testing standards for each crop species.

 6. Trial Production Variety means a new agricultural crop variety that has undergone examination and meets the required conditions, recognized by the Crop Production Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for trial production.

7. Trial Production means the process of producing new varieties that have been recognized for trial production on a certain area and ecological zone under large-scale production conditions.

        8. Officially Recognized Variety means a new agricultural crop variety that has undergone trial production and meets the conditions set forth in Clause 1 of Article 10 of these Regulations or a variety that has undergone exceptionally excellent examination and meets the conditions set forth in Clause 1 of Article 11 of these Regulations, recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

9. Scientific Council at the Base means the Council established by the organization registering for examination; if the organization does not have the conditions to establish it, it must request a specialized institution to assist in establishing it; for organizations and individuals under the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, they are established by the Department. The Council is tasked with evaluating the results of the examination and trial production and recommending the level of recognition for new crop varieties.

 

Part 2

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

 

Article 3. Forms of Testing

1. National Testing: must be applied to new crop varieties listed in the main crop directory and encouraged for other crops.

2. Author Testing: applies to new crop varieties not listed in the main crop directory.

Article 4. Content of Testing

1. DUS Testing

a) New crop varieties listed in the main crop directory must undergo DUS testing when officially recognizing the variety.

b) Encouraging DUS testing for new crop varieties not listed in the main crop directory.

2. VCU Testing applies to all registered crop varieties for testing, including basic testing and production testing.

a) For crops that have testing regulations issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, follow the testing regulations of the crop species.

b) For crops without testing regulations issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, organizations and individuals with crop varieties for testing shall establish their own testing regulations and implement them.

Article 5. Testing Facilities

1. Designated testing facilities must meet the following conditions:

a) Registered for crop variety testing activities;

b) Have locations suitable for testing requirements and growth and development needs of each crop species;

c) Have specialized equipment meeting testing requirements of each crop species;

d) Have at least one technical staff member with a bachelor's degree in agronomy or plant protection and a certificate for training on crop variety testing;

đ) For DUS testing facilities, they must have standard samples of currently marketed varieties for comparison.

2. Procedures for designating testing facilities

a) Organizations and individuals meeting the testing facility conditions as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article submit registration documents to the Crop Production Department - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The documents include:

- Application for designation as a testing facility (Annex 1);

- Copy of the establishment decision or business registration certificate, or investment permit.

 b) Within 45 days from the date of receiving valid documents, the Crop Production Department will conduct an assessment, and if the conditions are met, it will designate the testing facility.

Article 6. Procedures, Formalities, and Scale of Testing

1. National Testing

a) Organizations and individuals submit a registration form for testing (Annex 2) and a Technical Declaration (Annex 3) directly or through postal service to the designated testing facility.

b) The testing facility receives the documents; if the documents are valid, it proceeds to sign a testing contract; if the documents are invalid, within 5 working days from receipt of the documents, the testing facility notifies the organization or individual to complete the documents according to regulations.

c) Based on the contract, the testing facility conducts testing according to the testing regulations.

d) The testing facility is responsible for submitting the testing result report to the Crop Production Department no later than 45 days after the completion of testing.

2. Author Testing

Before conducting testing, organizations and individuals with crop varieties for testing send the registration form for testing (Annex 2) directly or through postal service to the National Variety and Product Testing Center.

3. The maximum scale of production testing area for each crop species is specified in Annex 4.

Article 7. Conditions and procedures for recognizing varieties for trial production

1. Conditions for recognizing varieties for trial production: Varieties that have been tested and found to have usage value and cultivation value meeting production requirements, surpassing the control variety by at least one of the following criteria:

a) Yield increase of at least 10%

b) Superior nutritional quality, sensory quality, exportability, and processing quality

c) Higher economic efficiency

d) Better agronomic characteristics (suitable growth period, resistance to pests and diseases, or adverse environmental conditions)

2. Procedures for recognizing crop varieties for trial production.

a) Organizations or individuals with new crop varieties requesting recognition for trial production submit the application dossier to the Crop Cultivation Department, including:

- Application form for recognizing trial production varieties (Annex 5) - Report on the results of VCU testing;

- Minutes of the meeting of the Scientific Council recommending trial production

- Results of DUS testing in cases of complaints, accusations, or doubts about the distinctiveness of the variety by the testing organization or individual

b) Within thirty days from the date of receiving a valid application dossier, the Crop Cultivation Department will review the dossier. If the dossier is valid, it will decide to establish a specialized scientific council to evaluate the testing results. Based on the recommendation of the specialized scientific council, the Director of the Crop Cultivation Department will decide to recognize the variety for trial production.

Article 8. Procedure for trial production

1. Organizations or individuals with trial production varieties or authorized to conduct trial production must transfer the variety to producers and comply with the following requirements:

a) Provide specific instructions on the cultivation techniques of the trial production variety to the producer

b) Have a contract or list clearly stating the name and address of the organization or individual conducting trial production, the time frame, and quantity of the transferred variety

c) Monitor and evaluate the variety during the trial production period and compensate or support losses caused by the variety

2. Within thirty days after the end of the planting season, organizations or individuals with trial production varieties or authorized to conduct trial production must report the name of the variety, location, area, and trial production period to the Crop Cultivation Department and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development where the trial production takes place.

Article 9. Scale and duration of trial production

1. Trial production varieties are produced in provinces or ecological zones recognized for trial production. In case of expanding trial production to other ecological zones, organizations or individuals with trial production varieties must submit a written request and obtain approval from the Crop Cultivation Department.

2. The total trial production area shall be as specified in Annex 6.

3. The duration from the start of trial production to the formal recognition request is a maximum of three years for short-cycle crops and seven years for long-cycle crops. Beyond this period, if the variety is not formally recognized, it will not be allowed to continue trial production.

Article 10. Conditions and procedures for formal recognition of new crop varieties

a) The variety has undergone trial production for at least two seasons for short-cycle crops and two harvest years for long-cycle crops, and meets the minimum area requirement as specified in Annex 6.

1. Conditions for Recognition

b) The trial production results show that the variety maintains its good characteristics as in the testing and meets production requirements.

c) The variety has distinctiveness, uniformity, and stability.

d) The new variety has a suitable name according to Article 12 of these Regulations.

đ) There is an evaluation opinion on the variety from the local authority where the trial production takes place.

2. Recognition procedures

a) Organizations or individuals with new varieties requesting formal recognition prepare and submit an application dossier to the Crop Cultivation Department, including:

- Application form for recognizing new crop varieties

- Report on the results of trial production - Report on the results of VCU testing;

- Cultivation technique process of the variety being recognized

- Report on the results of DUS testing (mandatory for major crops)

- Minutes of the meeting of the Scientific Council recommending formal recognition

- Written evaluation opinion on the variety from the local authority where the trial production takes place

b) Within thirty days from the date of receiving a valid application dossier, the Crop Cultivation Department will review and propose the establishment of a specialized scientific council to evaluate the trial production results. Based on the recommendation of the specialized scientific council, the Crop Cultivation Department will propose the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to formally recognize the new agricultural crop variety.

b) Within thirty days from the date of receiving valid files, the Crop Cultivation Department shall examine and submit to the Ministry for the establishment of a specialized scientific council to evaluate the results of the trial production. Based on the recommendation of the specialized scientific council, the Crop Cultivation Department shall submit to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for formal recognition of the new agricultural crop variety.

Article 11. Conditions and procedures for special recognition of new crop varieties

1. Conditions for special recognition

a) The variety has undergone basic testing and production trials for at least two seasons with the same name or has undergone one season of trial production, having usage value and cultivation value that meet production requirements, and clearly surpassing the control variety in at least one of the following criteria:

- Yield is higher than the control by 15% or more;

- Superior nutritional quality, sensory quality, exportability, processing... compared to the control variety;

- Has distinct agronomic characteristics compared to the control (suitable growth period, resistance to pests and diseases or adverse environmental conditions...).

b) The variety has distinctiveness, uniformity, and stability.

c) The variety has a name that complies with the provisions of Article 12 of this Regulation.

d) The testing facility and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development where the production trials are conducted propose special recognition.

2. Procedures for special recognition

a) Organizations or individuals with new varieties proposing special recognition shall prepare a dossier to be submitted to the Crop Cultivation Department, which includes:

- Report on the results of trial production - Report on the results of VCU testing;

- Report on testing results and completion of planting techniques;

- Planting techniques;

- Report on the first season's DUS testing results showing distinctiveness and uniformity of the variety (mandatory for major crops);

- Minutes of the meeting of the scientific council;

- Document proposing special recognition of the new crop variety from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development where the production trials are conducted.

b) Within thirty days from the date of receiving a valid dossier, the Crop Cultivation Department will review and submit to the Ministry for the establishment of a specialized scientific council to evaluate the testing results. Based on the recommendation of the specialized scientific council, the Crop Cultivation Department will submit to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for formal recognition of the new crop variety.

Article 12. Principles for naming new agricultural crop varieties

1. Each new crop variety when put into production must have only one name in accordance with these regulations;

2. The variety name must be easily distinguishable from the names of other varieties of the same species;

3. The following naming styles are not accepted:

- Consisting solely of numbers;

- Violating social ethics;

- Likely to cause confusion regarding the characteristics of the variety or the author's background;

- Conflicting or similar enough to cause confusion with registered trademarks or geographical indications for products.

Article 13. Names of new agricultural crop varieties

1. When submitting a recognition application, organizations or individuals registering a new crop variety name shall include it in the recognition application, in the testing result report, and in the trial production result report.

2. The Crop Cultivation Department will review and submit the official variety name together with the recognition dossier for new agricultural crop varieties to the Ministry.

3. The official name of the new agricultural crop variety will be recorded in the recognition decision and in the list of crop varieties permitted for production and business.

Article 14. Inspection, supervision, handling complaints and reports

1. Inspection and supervision of testing, trial production, recognition, and naming of new agricultural crop varieties shall be carried out in accordance with the Inspection Law and related legal documents.

2. Organizations and individuals have the right to complain or report violations in the fields of testing, trial production, recognition, and naming of new agricultural crop varieties. Complaints and reports shall be handled in accordance with the Complaints and Reports Law.

Article 15. Fees for Variety Testing and Registration Fees for Recognizing New Agricultural Plant Varieties

Organizations and individuals with new agricultural plant varieties that register for testing and recognition must pay fees according to regulations. In cases where there are no state regulations, the costs of testing shall be agreed upon by the parties through a contract.

Article 16. Assignment of Tasks for Relevant Agencies

2. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

a) Implementing state management functions regarding variety testing, trial production, recognition, and naming within the entire country, with the following responsibilities:

- Proposing the establishment of technical standards, technical regulations, and economic-technical norms for variety testing;

- Reviewing and designating testing facilities;

- The Crop Cultivation Department will coordinate with the Science and Technology Division and the Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development to inspect and evaluate varieties during the testing and trial production phases.

- Receiving and reviewing applications for recognizing trial-produced varieties, establishing specialized scientific councils to assess testing results, and deciding on the recognition of trial-produced varieties.

- Receiving and reviewing applications for officially recognizing new agricultural plant varieties, proposing the establishment of specialized scientific councils to assess trial production results, and submitting to the Ministry for the official recognition of new agricultural plant varieties.

- Inspecting, auditing, handling complaints, and addressing grievances in the fields of variety testing, trial production, recognition, and naming.

b) The National Center for Variety Testing, Plant Product Testing, and Fertilizer Testing assists the Crop Cultivation Department:

- Carrying out central coordination tasks of guidance, supervision, and training in specialized matters for testing facilities nationwide. Uniformly managing variety names across the country. Accepting registration applications for testing and supervising organizations and individuals conducting author testing.

- Directly performing testing tasks for crop varieties as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. Science and Technology Division

a) Developing plans, organizing the construction, and submitting to the Ministry for promulgation of technical standards and technical regulations for variety testing according to approved plans.

b) Coordinating with the Crop Cultivation Department to monitor and evaluate varieties during the testing and trial production phases and participate in the Scientific Council for the recognition of new agricultural plant varieties.

3. Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development

a) Monitoring and supervising the testing and trial production of new plant varieties within their jurisdiction.

b) Evaluating trial production results and recommending special recognition for new varieties.

c) Conducting inspections, audits, and resolving complaints and grievances related to variety testing and trial production within their jurisdiction.

Article 17. Final Provisions

During implementation, any issues or newly arising concerns should be reported in writing to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for timely consideration and resolution./.