Alexandria, Virginia, USA
July 29, 2011

Source: American Seed Trade Association (ASTA)

This is the first in a series of articles on the National Seed Health System to help ASTA members better understand this unique program and its benefits.

Created in 1999 to accredit private companies and seed testing laboratories, the National Seed Health System (NSHS - www.seedhealth.org) supports the issuance of federal phytosanitary certificates for the export of seeds.

Entities must pay a fee to become accredited. Once accredited, they can to perform functions such as laboratory seed testing, phytosanitary field inspections, seed sampling and seed visual inspections. All results from these various functions are submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) officials or state officials operating under APHIS' authority who then issue the phytosanitary certificates.

In addition to accrediting entities, the NSHS develops new and improved phytosanitary testing and inspection methods, evaluates methods developed elsewhere and certifies the best methods as official.

The NSHS often reviews methods developed by other countries compared to the methods that have been certified here in the United States. The NSHS certifies only the most accurate, consistent and easiest to use methods. Many seed tests used by other countries are cumbersome, time consuming and less accurate and consistent. It's not uncommon for countries to hold a shipment and re-test it at the port of entry where numerous seed shipments have been rejected on the basis of test results, which turned out to be false positives.

Vision not yet met, but benefits bountiful

The NSHS was established by APHIS in cooperation with the National Plant Board, the Association of American Seed Control Officials, the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). APHIS selected Iowa State University's Seed Science Center to administer the NSHS, primarily because of the technical and scientific resources available at this institution to develop and evaluate new methods for seed testing and inspection.

For the first three years of its existence ASTA contributed approximately $250,000 to the NSHS to facilitate the development and certification of methods for seed testing and inspection. The original vision was for the NSHS to eventually become self-sufficient based on accreditation fees; however, the fees only cover the expenses associated with the accreditation process with very few resources leftover for methods development. ASTA members have periodically provided financial resources to help supplement NSHS activities. Recently, ASTA has assisted the NSHS apply for grants from the USDA's Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) program to help supplement its budget.
Since its inception, the NSHS has provided a valuable service to the U.S. seed industry.
Currently there are 14 NSHS accredited entities and more applications for accreditation have been submitted.

Through the years, the seed industry has become highly dependent on these accredited entities to help facilitate and accelerate the issuance of seed phytosanitary export certificates.

"It's also important to note the international stature of the NSHS by our trading partners," says Ric Dunkle, ASTA's senior director of science and seed health. "Most other countries recognize the testing and inspection methods developed and certified by the NSHS as the most reliable for the purposes of phytosanitary certification.

"All efforts need to be made to keep the NSHS at the forefront internationally; otherwise less reliable and/or more expensive tests and methods will be used or required by other governments for the testing of U.S. seed shipments."

Reducing resources a threat

As resources within the federal and state governments become more limiting, ASTA is concerned about the ability of APHIS to keep pace with the industry's need for phytosanitary certificates as seed exports continue to expand, unless the NSHS is maintained and enhanced according to APHIS' original vision. The NSHS plays a critical role by allowing non-governmental entities to perform functions that help APHIS and the states in the phytosanitary certification process.

With fewer and fewer state and federal inspectors available to do the necessary field inspections and laboratory testing, companies will likely have more difficulty obtaining their phytosanitary certificates in a timely manner unless they consider becoming NSHS accredited to perform those functions needed for phytosanitary certification on their own.
Many seed tests used by other countries are cumbersome, time consuming and less accurate and consistent. It's not uncommon for countries to hold a shipment and re-test it at the port of entry where numerous seed shipments have been rejected on the basis of test results, which turned out to be false positives.
 

Website: http://www.amseed.org

Published: July 29, 2011