Regional law 25 May 2018, n. 14 Protection, conservation, enhancement of the diversity of the heritage of varieties, races and microbial strains of agricultural and food interest in the Calabrian territory.

With this Regional Law, the Calabria Region recognizes and protects the diversity of the heritage of plant varieties, animal races and microbial strains of its territory from a scientific, cultural, environmental and economic point of view: they are included in the natural agricultural and food interest heritage of Calabria.
In particular, the Region protects and enhances the heritage of plant varieties and animal breeds and microbial strains in order to promote the sustainability of Calabrian agricultural ecosystems and the rural communities that operate there; it promotes and guarantees the collective use of such diversity of heritage through the Conservation, Protection and Safeguard Network; favors, through the regional company for the development of Calabrian agriculture (ARSAC) public and private initiatives aimed at conservation, protection, enhancement and use of the heritage, with particular regard to that at risk of extinction and genetic erosion.
In order to protect the heritage of local varieties, breeds and microbial strains of the territory, the Law establishes the regional register of agricultural and food biodiversity and regulates the registration thereof.
The Law further describes the technical-scientific commissions, which are advisory and propositional bodies competent for: a) expressing opinions on the registration or cancellation from the regional register of referred of the local varieties, breeds and microbial strains of the Calabrian territory; b) promoting the priorities and types of intervention for the protection and conservation of heritage of local varieties, breeds and microbial strains of the Calabrian territory; c) updating the national register of biodiversity of agricultural interest and food.
According to the Law, the protection of the regional heritage of plant varieties, races and local microbial strains, through ex situ conservation, is entrusted to the Experimental Demonstration Centers (CSD) of ARSAC, according to the modes described. ARSAC also manages and coordinates the network for the conservation, protection and safeguard of the vegetable variety heritage, plants, breeds and local microbial strains of agricultural and food interest in the Calabrian area.
The Law also establishes a definition of guardian farmer and custodian breeder that grow and breed on farm and who are committed to the conservation, within the company, of the genetic resources of agricultural and food interest as well as of animal genetic resources of the Calabrian territory, subject to risk of extinction or genetic erosion.
The law finally regulates the circulation of the varietal heritage and the marketing of seeds from conservation varieties as well as the conservation and use of the historical memory and the promotion and research activities on the agricultural and food biodiversity.