Agrodebates on the seed market in Ukraine

 On April 10, 2012, the Seed Association of Ukraine jointly with the Association Ukrainian Agribusiness Club held a round table discussion on the seed market in Ukraine: discussion of the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On seeds and planting material. "

 Member companies of the Seed Association of Ukraine and the Association Ukrainian Agribusiness Club as well as representatives of government, namely Sergey Tryhubenko, Chairman of the State Inspectorate of Agriculture of Ukraine; Ivan Cherniavsky, Head of the Seed and Nursery control Department of State Inspectorate of Agriculture of Ukraine; Zharun Yurii, Deputy Director of Agriculture Department of Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Ukraine; Petro Vasilyuk, Head of Ukrainian Inspection Institute of Plant Varieties; Nikolenko Natalia, Head of State Registration of Rights on Plant Varieties, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on the Elimination of  the State Service of Protection of Rights on Plant Varieties; Slauta Victor, Advisor to the President of Ukraine on agricultural issues; Vyacheslav Sokolov, Head of Breeding and Genetics Institute, National Center of Varieties Studies, and others took part in the event.

Besides there were present Jean-Jacques Herve, Advisor to Board of PJSC " Crédit Agricole Bank"; Henry Barnabot, Counselor of the Minister of Agriculture and Food; representatives of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, governmental research institutions, the economic and agricultural media.

The need for a round table was determined by text inaccurasy of the draft Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On seeds and planting material””, as the text of the draft was changed many times, and as a result the level of awareness of business entities on the main provisions of the Law was insufficient.

It shoud be noted that the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On seeds and planting material"" (registration № 6598 dated 29.06.2010 was submitted by people’s deputies of Ukraine Kaletnik G.M. and Tereshchuk S.M. of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian Policy and Land Relations) at the meeting of July 7, 2010 was considered and adopted on the first reading by the Verkhovna Rada dated 02/03/2011. However, as on March 2012, the draft law is still being processed by the Committee of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. During the discussions and presentations, participants also raised the urgent problems of determining the legal, organisational and financial rules for the seed market, streamlining the structure and functions of state control ins seed and seedling; seed certification procedures, securing rights and obligations of legal and physical entities in the shere of seeds and planting material.

Participants agreed that the partnership of state and market entities is the key to increasing the long-term investments in the country.

That is, the decision of Ukraine has to be conceptual – whether we agree to act according to "level playing field" in matters of state regulation of seed, which are implemented in highly industrialized countries (they produce 2/3 of world material valuables and services), or return to the old methods for certification of seeds and planting material; refuse the economic integration that has been repeatedly declared as priority and practical means of entry into the world economy.