Canadian Government Streamlines Variety Registration Process

Canada's Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has announced upcoming changes to streamline and modernize the way crop varieties are registered in Canada. The Government of Canada worked closely with the crop production value chain to ensure that the country's Variety Registration (VR) system continues to protect Canada's international reputation for high-quality crops and encourages innovation in crop variety development by removing potential barriers to crop innovation. The changes include:

• Streamlining the variety registration system to two tiers: Basic and Enhanced.
• Model Operating Procedures that will streamline Recommending Committees. This will give Canadian farmers faster access to the newest cutting-edge varieties.
• Incorporation by reference that will allow value chain consensus to speed up administrative changes by up to 24 months.

These changes will go through additional consultations with industry groups in the coming months. For more information, read the news release at Agriculture and Afri-Food Canada website.