From the NFU website:
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)’s major review of Canada’s Seeds Regulations could result in far-reaching changes to our seed system. Our seed regulations build, maintain, and protect the value of Canadian agricultural products for farmers and end-users with an evidence-based and transparent variety registration process. They ensure farmers can easily get relevant and meaningful information about the seed they use. Canada’s current seed regulations also respect farmers’ ability to use farm saved seed and to exchange or sell public domain seed to each other as common seed.
The Seed Regulatory Modernization review puts all of this on the table.
The CFIA wants input from farmers and others in the seed sector. You can add your voice by filling in the CFIA survey. By filling in the survey, your answers will ensure the CFIA clearly hears that our seed regulations must protect the well-being of farmers. The deadline is May 1, 2024.
Multinational seed and chemical companies have their own ideas about what this review should do. If their input is not countered by farmers, the review could bring in major changes that make seed more expensive and less accessible for farmers, may harm the public interest, and weaken agriculture in Canada.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has carefully analysed the questions, and with this Farmers Guide you can easily complete the survey with answers that support farmers.
The NFU has also produced fact sheets related to Canada’s Seeds Regulations – in advance of completing this survey, you can check out the fact sheets on Variety Registration, Pedigreed and Common seed, and Seed Imports and Exports at www.nfu.ca/seed-regs along with more information about the Seed Regulatory Modernization process and its implications.
In the guide below, the CFIA’s questions and background information are shaded on the left side, and the NFU’s recommended answers and suggested comments to add to your answers are on the right.
In the Demographics section respond with information about yourself as an individual.
Make sure you click the “submit” button when you finish to make sure the CFIA gets your responses.
The more responses the CFIA gets from farmers like you, the better! Please share this guide with other farmers who want to make sure our seed regulations work for farmers!
Survey link – https://ca1se.voxco.com/SE/93/SRM_MRS/?&lang=en