Seeds and Seed Varieties Act (No. 23 of 2018).

This Act provides rule relative to the development and control of seeds and seed varieties of plants specified by the Minister in a Notice published in the Gazette. In such Notice, the Minister may specify that only certain provisions of the Act apply to a specified class of plants. The Act sets out the criteria for the recognition of variety and its naming. The Act consists of 54 sections divided into seven Chapters: Preliminary Matters (1); Registrar of Seed and Seed Varieties (2); Registration of Producers, Processors and Dealers in Seed and Control over Imports and Exports of Seed (3); Namibia Seed Council (4); Seed Varieties Committee and National Seed Varieties Register (5); Seed Certification Service (6); General Provisions (7).
The Minister must determine the overall seed policy of Namibia and subject to the advice or recommendations of the Council and the provisions of this Act, the Minister may initiate, formulate and develop policies on all matters relating to seed and seed varieties. He or she may give general or specific policy directives to the Seed Varieties Committee, Service and the Registrar, and the Committee, the Service and the Registrar must comply with such directives. The Namibia Seed Council is established to advise the Minister on specified matters. It shall also monitor and coordinate the implementation of the national seed policy and supervise and provide policy guidelines to the Seed Varieties Committee. This Committee, also established under this Act, must perform the functions entrusted to it by or under this Act subject to the overall policy directives of the Minister and the Council. It shall, among other things, review proposals for release of new seed varieties, register seed varieties and define eligibility requirements for registration of varieties. It shall also arrange for reciprocal recognition of seed varieties with other countries. The Minister may prescribe minimum standards relating to limits of germination, genetic and physical purity, and seed health, with respect to any seed of a specified kind or variety.
No person may cultivate, produce or organise the cultivation or production of seed or operate as a seed dealer unless he or she is registered as a seed producer and no person may operate a seed processing unit unless such unit is registered. All these persons must furnish to the Registrar such information and returns as prescribed. It shall be prohibited to operate a horticulture nursery that is not registered and the registrar shall only register a nursery if it meets the prescribed requirements relating to infrastructure, equipment and technical ability and knowledge. In general seed may only be imported into Namibia if the seed (i) is of a variety of which the denomination is entered in the register; (ii) complies with any prescribed requirements; (iii) is packed in a container which is sealed and branded, marked or labelled in the prescribed manner with the prescribed information; (iv) is imported through a prescribed port of entry. No person may export from Namibia any seed unless he or she is in possession of a certificate from the Registrar authorising such export. If the Registrar is of opinion that a consignment of plants or seed may not be exported, he or she may prohibit the export.
The Registrar is the Head of the Seed Certification Service, established within the Ministry responsible for agriculture. The Minister may establish a Central Seed Testing Laboratory or declare any seed-testing laboratory which is part of the Public Service as the Central Seed Testing Laboratory and may establish other seed testing laboratories. The Act provides for the appointment of Seed Inspectors and defined powers of such inspectors. The Minister may accredit a person or body to certify that a consignment of seed or seed produced by a certain producer complies with the requirements prescribed for a specific purpose. The Act lays down rule regarding the labelling of seed. Appeal against decisions of the Registrar or the Service may be had with the Minister, who must appoint a board for this purpose.