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In the spotlights: Inspection authorities establish agreements on plant health

Annual Report 2023
About NaktuinbouwForeword acting chairpersonPrincipal’s forewordNaktuinbouw in figuresFinancial accountabilityEmployeesQualityOur inspection activitiesKnowledge sharingInternational cooperationComplaints and objectionsIn the spotlights: New European legislation on propagating materialIn the spotlights: Inspection authorities establish agreements on plant healthIn the spotlights: We share our knowledge of Plant Breeders' Rights worldwide

In September 2023, the Ministry of LNV and the four plant inspection authorities BKD, KCB, NAK and Naktuinbouw signed the Multi-year Agreement on the application of the Plant Health Law. The MYA contains agreements on the supervision of plant health.

The European Plant Health Regulation 2016/2031 entered into force in 2019. This necessitated amendments to the Multi-year Agreement (MYA) that was drawn up in 2007. The Ministry of LNV, the NVWA and the inspection authorities BKD, KCB, NAK and Naktuinbouw are involved in the implementation of the plant health law. The various parties see the MYA as a well-functioning instrument that enables agreements to be made jointly on the application of this legislation, under the system responsibility of the Minister.

Good cooperation is crucial

The MYA concerns the phytosanitary domain and not quality. The latter is defined in the Seeds and Planting Materials Act. The MYA contains (internal) agreements on cooperation between the inspection authorities, the Ministry of LNV and the NVWA. The NVWA and inspection authorities cooperate closely to achieve the shared goal of protecting plant health, with the same level of dedication.

Agreements and tasks

The MYA contains agreements on:

  • the activities to be performed
  • second-line supervision by the Ministry of LNV and the NVWA
  • quality and accreditation obligations
  • information provision
  • enforcement
  • division of tasks in the event of calamities and incidents.

The inspection authorities BKD, KCB, NAK and Naktuinbouw perform tasks relating to plant passports, the supervision of RNQP organisms and imports on the basis of a statutory instrument (AMvB): the Plant Health Decree. This decree appoints them as the competent authority.

The inspection authorities perform the phytosanitary export inspections on behalf of the NVWA. These tasks concern all the inspection activities that relate to imports and exports. They also monitor and perform additional inspections for the presence of quarantine organisms, or potential organisms worthy of classification as QO. In addition, they establish regulations for cultivation and supervise compliance.

Joint agreement

In principle, the agreements between the inspection authorities, the Ministry and the NVWA are identical. The four separate agreements were therefore merged and amended where necessary. The different agreements for each inspection authority and sector are stated in an appendix. The MYA was signed on 29 September 2023. It is valid for an indefinite period and replaces the MYA Plantkeur dating from 2007.