Page 106 - Breeding and regulatory opportunities, Renaud

Chapter 3

of the exception procedure. Overall, our analysis suggests that the US, in the

near to medium term, will not be able to approach 100% compliance with the

organic seed regulation for any crop group, while this is in prospect for many

crop groups within the EU.

3.4.3 Mexico, US and EU experience compared

The disharmony between the phytosanitary standards of Mexico and the

US places signiicant non-tarif barriers to trade on seed companies as well

as on growers who directly import seed. Compliance with Mexico’s current

regulations not only requires an investment in a seed treatment with limited

phytosanitary capacity but may actually be contributing to the movement

and use of inferior and/or diseased seed. As awareness of Mexico’s regulatory

dilemma spreads, international organic certifying bodies are responding by

imposing more frequent and stricter inspections, increasing the risk that Mexican

growers will lose the certiication that allows them to produce for their main

markets. State authorities within Mexico have engaged with the development

of organic seed regulations but have failed to harmonize their respective

eforts, resulting in a regulatory confusion that hinders rather than supports the

evolution of the sector. Self-organizing networks have emerged to exploit the

opportunities for production and trade within and across state borders but they

operate in the margins of legality, dampening the future growth prospects of

individual producers and the sector as a whole. An overview of Mexican organic

seed system stakeholder category types, their level of inluence and their key

concerns are identiied in Table 3.6.

Mexico also remains in default of its obligations as a signatory of the Interna-

tional Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) of the Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO). The IPPC regulations require partner countries/regions to

uphold phytosanitary standards compliant with trade standards. Recognized

national phytosanitary services under the IPPC include phytosanitary controls

such as ield inspections, seed testing, seed treatments, and phytosanitary

certiication on the basis that procedures are compliant with IPPC regulations.

The organic seed rules and standards of most EU member states and the US

comply with the IPPC standards (IPPC, 1952); Mexico remains one of only three

countries in the world that requires a blanket chemical treatment under its

phytosanitary regulation of imported seed.

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