Organic Seed Database for Malta

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The Maltese, Official National Database for Organic Seed Availability

In line with EU Regulation (EC) No. 889/2008 Article 48, a national database has been established to list the varieties for which organic seeds and organic seed potatoes obtained and certified via the organic production method are available in the Maltese Islands. The Plant Protection has been designated the administration and management of the seed database.

The scope of the database is to share information on the availability of organic propagating material and thus facilitate the acquisition of organic certified seeds to the organic farming community. If you search the database and find the varieties you need are not available you must request a derogation from the Agriculture Directorate before purchasing and using non-organic seeds.

It is mandatory for organic seed potato suppliers to register all organic propagating material available in Malta with the seed database administrators (Plant Protection). Additionally, suppliers that are also generating, packaging, and/or participating in the labelling of organic seeds must also submit their activity to the organic control system administered by Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (Control Authority).

Registration onto the Organic seed Database

Varieties, for which seed or seed potatoes produced by the organic production method are available are to be registered in the database at the request of the supplier.

Any variety which has not been registered in the database shall be considered as unavailable and not recognized as deriving from a recognized source.

The Plant Protection Directorate updates the database during the first half and second half of the year, which changes are to reflect updates pertinent to each species or group of species cultivated locally.

Conditions for Registration

For registration, the supplier must:

Demonstrate that he or the last operator, in cases where the supplier is only dealing with pre-packaged seed or seed potatoes, has been subject to the control system referred to in Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007;

Be in a position to demonstrate that the seed or seed potatoes to be placed on the market comply with the general requirements applicable to seed and seed potatoes;

Make available all the information required under Article 51 of regulation 889/2013, and undertake to update this information at the request of the manager of the database or whenever such updating is necessary to ensure that the information remains reliable.

The manager of the database may, with the approval, where necessary in consultation with the competent authority refuse a supplier's application for registration or delete a previously accepted registration if the supplier does not comply with the requirements.

Registrations are to be directed to plantprotection.mafa@gov.mt

Registered Information

For each registered variety and for each supplier, one must obtain and provide the following details:

The scientific name of the species and the variety denomination;

The name and contact details of the supplier or his representative;

The area where the supplier can deliver the seed or seed potatoes to the user in the usual time needed for the delivery;

The country or region in which the variety is tested and approved for the purpose of the common catalogues of varieties of agricultural plant species and vegetable species as defined in Council Directives 2002/53/EC on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species and 2002/55/EC on the marketing of vegetable seed;

The date from which the seed or seed potatoes will be available;

The name and/or code number of the control authority or control body in charge of the control of the operator as referred to in Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

The supplier must immediately inform the manager of the database if any of the registered varieties are no longer available, which amendments shall be recorded in the database. Please help us to make sure that the database is up to date by reporting any inaccuracies or outdated information.

Besides the information specified above, the database contains a list of the species listed.

Access to information.

The information in the database is available through the Internet, free of cost, to the users of seed or seed potatoes and to the public.

The database manager shall ensure that all users are informed every December of the procedures in place for extracting the information.