§ Mr. David PorterTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the future of farm-sowed seeds, royalties, older United Kingdom seed varieties and plant breeders' rights for the next five years.
§ Mr. JackI touched on most of these issues in my scrutiny debate speech on EC plant variety rights on June 23 this year—Official Report of European Standing Committee A of 23 June 1993. In particular, we are anxious to promote a healthy and competitive United Kingdom plant breeding industry which will provide farmers with a flow of new, improved plant varieties. We are therefore anxious to see a Community solution to the farm-sowed question which balances the breeders' and the farmers' interests and will provide breeders with the necessary funding to develop new varieties. We fully support the introduction of Community plant variety rights which will not only simplify the process of obtaining protection for new plant varieties across the whole EC, but will also propose some controls on farm-sowed seed. This aspect is under debate at the moment. We intend to ratify the revised UPOV convention at the earliest opportunity to provide breeders with the increased protection this affords. We are also pressing the Community to reduce the regulation of traditional vegetable varieties used by the amateur gardener.