November 4th and 12th NPC Standing Committee Seventeenth Meeting with 149 votes in favor, with 5 abstentions, a vote by the Seed Law amendments, the new Seed Law will be officially implemented January 1, 2016. After the meeting, the General Office of the NPC Standing Committee held a press conference in the Great Hall, the new seed law and other issues answered reporters' questions. Vice chairman of the NPC Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee Act chamber Zhang Fugui, deputy director of the National People's Congress Law Committee of the Economic chamber Yue Zhongming, the Ministry of Agriculture Seed Authority Zhangyan Qiu attended the conference.
Decentralization: the implementation of non-main crop variety registration
At the meeting, the reporter asked the first question about the Seed Law. Yue Zhongming said the decentralization of new seed law is mainly reflected in four aspects: First, reform and improve the main crop variety examination and approval system. The second is the integration of education complex to push large enterprise production and management to approve the license, decentralized agriculture forestry administrations at the provincial level. Third, the same perfect introduction provincial ecological zones suitable provisions to go through the original introduction of the provinces where the agriculture and forestry sector agreed, into the record. Fourth disqualified license seed quality inspection agency inspectors. These are to stimulate the vitality of the market has a great role in promoting.
"One of the main crop varieties examination and approval system is most important." Yue Zhongming said that the revised system of a basic system past the Seed Law breed management, narrowing the certification envelope main crop varieties, the abolition of the Ministry of Agriculture and the provinces to determine the weight of the main crops reduce the administrative licensing matters species management, no longer apply to the vast majority of crop variety approval of varieties included in the registration and management, the role of market mechanism.
At the same time, he said variety registration system lacks practical experience in our country, started to consider a range not too broad to register, the registration threshold is not too high, the program does not engage in too complicated, to prevent validation engage in disguise. To establish the variety registration applicant responsible for the authenticity of the registration of varieties, the competent departments to strengthen during and after the regulatory mechanism. Only a written review of the application materials, without substantive examination, which is conducive to the promotion of species listed as soon as possible to meet the needs of the market. The competent authorities can also get away from the heavy administrative affairs, the focus seed into the matter, after the regulation, to discover, to solve the problem of seed industry development.
Under the revised law seed, varieties should be registered if not registered, not advertising, promotion, not registered in the name of the breed sales. To some extent, limit the varieties of failing to register their market behavior. "The implementation of variety registration, mainly from the government regulate and guide, helping improve market credibility and competitiveness registered varieties, the role of the market." Yue Zhongming said.
Protection of New Varieties: New chapter regulate trade order
"The new Seed Law Amendment added a new chapter on the protection of species, it can be seen that the degree of importance." Zhang Fugui, said the new plant variety protection is to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of varieties, promote breeding innovation, improve the fundamental guarantee of the ability to innovate . Currently, the legal basis for the protection of new varieties of the "Regulations on Protection of New Varieties of Plants," promulgated in 1997, with the rapid development of China's seed industry, relying on regulations to protect has been difficult to meet the real needs of the infringement and other illegal phenomena increasingly deck increased, against the legitimate rights and interests of people of new plant varieties, new varieties of plants dampened people's enthusiasm for innovation and disrupted the market order of fair competition, hindering the healthy development of the seed industry.
The reason for these problems, one new plant variety protection legislation level is relatively low. In our legal system, intellectual property, patents, trademarks, copyrights and other laws are related to the protection of new plant varieties is only through regulations to regulate. Second, the low level of protection for new varieties of plants. Protection efforts and strength to protect the scope and content far can not meet the current needs of modern seed industry to promote the sustained and healthy development. Third is to encourage innovation and lack of variety, there is a long-cycle business rights, the burden of proof is difficult, high-cost, low compensation, the effect is poor, and serious violations and other issues.
For this reason, in the case of new plant varieties currently included in the current National People's Congress legislation does not legislative plan, drawing on the Netherlands, Japan and other relevant countries experience in the seed legislation in the revised draft of the new Seed Law "new varieties protection "chapter of the draft of the new plant variety protection system is closely related to the key seed industry development of the specification, the conditions for authorization of new plant varieties authorized in principle, named variety, scope and exceptions, compulsory licensing principles were provisions. While increasing the penalties for violations of the relevant standards and quotas, increased the punishment. Such provisions, legislative saving resources and improve the efficiency of legislation, is conducive to the convergence of administrative protection and civil protection instruments, but also for the future of new plant variety protection legislation set aside a separate space. Both responded to the concerns of the National People's Congress, it is an important measure to implement the central government on the implementation of innovation-driven development strategy and the protection of intellectual property rights claims.
Sale of counterfeit species: illegal costs will increase
Yue Zhongming said that for the cheating of the peasants, agricultural damage when cases have occurred, the situation is causing serious losses to farmers, we must crack down and punish those guilty. The Seed Law with special emphasis on the protection of the interests of farmers, improve the enforcement mechanism, increase the cheating of the peasants, agricultural seed harm punishment violations. First, revise and improve the enforcement mechanisms to investigate violations of the seed process can take administrative enforcement measures. Through joint law enforcement, strengthen efforts to investigate the case.
Meanwhile, the new seed law for farmers to resolve the dispute to facilitate seed quality, improved seed claims provisions. User expressly seed or seed by seed quality labels and instructions marked false information loss, either to sell the seed operators claim compensation, may be to seed producers and other operators to claim compensation. In accordance with the provisions of the original, only the sale of seed Xianxiang operator compensation.
In terms of punishment, but also increased the cost of violations. Constituting a crime, the Criminal Code provides for sentences of sentenced these enterprises legal representative and senior management provides the industry banned. "I hope that all levels of government and relevant departments to implement the newly revised Seed Law, strict law enforcement, because the interests of farmers is no small matter, so always put the interests of farmers in mind, to protect farmers' interests as the focus of work to do real, meticulous, good. "Yue Zhongming stressed.
Swap seeds: can be carried out only at the local scale
"I am available for sale to farmers for their own use from numerous seed swap, when the packet consider controversial, many people proposed to delete this one." Zhangyan Qiu said, because farmers fear the free swop seed source is unclear, the quality did not guarantee, once a problem can not recover.
Also expressed that, in particular, the seeds of mutual swop between conventional seeds, neighborhoods, and today I see you field a good, tomorrow I swop fact to seed from you, is a habit of Chinese farmers' long-term production, or meet the actual needs. So in the end the discussion, decided to retain this provision.
However, we added a prerequisite in a "local farmer's market," the future handle the management of seed among farmers free swap and sell commercial seed separately. To protect the neighborhood, a village of varieties can swap each other. Also on the loopholes, the name of the substance to swop seed sales of goods to prevent and combat the conduct, seed regulatory authorities in the future to do the work in these two areas, do not put the chaos.
GM varieties: according to the law to strengthen supervision in accordance with regulations
Zhangyan Qiu stressed that the management of genetically modified varieties, the Ministry of Agriculture has been the attitude of all four sentences, "positive research, careful promotion, according to the law, strengthen supervision." The Seed Law has further defined the modification of genetically modified varieties to track regulatory and disclosure requirements. We in the implementation, it is also always on the production and operation of unapproved genetically modified seeds violations, resolutely combat. Crop seeds approved license approval by the production and operation, the full validation, registration, tags, archives, etc., to establish traceability system, according to the law administration.