National cooperation

National cooperation

The Federal Plant Variety Office supports the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) in legal/specialist matters relating to legal provisions on varieties and seeds. This requires ongoing discussion and cooperation with stakeholder organisations in the seed and plant breeding industry and the relevant regional authorities and close cooperation with experts from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

The Federal Plant Variety Office works closely with the Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), other institutes of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and federal states, as well as specialist organisations and universities in resistance and quality testing. The testing procedures are developed in cooperation with the federal states, breeders and other financial stakeholders. In cooperation with the federal state authorities responsible for seed certification, seed marketing control and monitoring adherence to certain regulations, the Federal Plant Variety Office tests the authenticity of seed and plant material for seed certification purposes. In some cases, it also tests propagating material in circulation in post-control cultivation and other suitable testing procedures. In addition, the Federal Plant Variety Office is the national coordination point for seed certification and seed marketing control authorities in the federal states.