GOVERNMENT TO TRAIN BREEDERS, REGULATORS ON FASTER CROP VARIETY RELEASE PROCESS

HARARE – The Seed Services Institute will convene a two-day training workshop for plant breeders and members of the National Variety Release Committee (NVRC) to strengthen capacity in variety testing, registration and commercial release processes in Zimbabwe.

The workshop is scheduled for 18-19 August 2026 at Cresta Lodge Msasa in Harare and will target 35 participants drawn from both public and private breeding institutions. According to a concept note, the variety release system in Zimbabwe requires that only distinct, uniform and stable varieties that have attained a threshold level of minimum value for cultivation and use (VCU) be registered and commercialized.VCU trials are conducted as multi-locational adaptability trials for at least two seasons across a minimum of five sites in the appropriate agro-ecological zones. Data collected must include the Least Significant Difference (LSD) and Standard Error (SE) for all quantitative traits.

Concurrently, Distinctiveness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) testing is done using UPOV methodologies to evaluate morphological descriptors of candidate varieties. DUS descriptors are later used during seed multiplication and certification to confirm trueness to type.

After completion of trials, a Variety Release Application is submitted to the Seed Services Institute, which serves as secretariat to the NVRC. The committee then meets to consider approval or rejection of the candidate variety.A variety is accepted for release by the NVRC if it is distinct, uniform and stable, and if the VCU requirement is satisfied in at least one relevant trait of value, cultivation or use.

The concept note states that an application for certification is processed in accordance with Section 10 of the Seeds (Certification Scheme) Notice, 2000, of the Seeds Act [Chapter 19:13].

After successful evaluation, release and where applicable, issuance of Plant Breeders Rights, new varieties are finally registered on the government national plant variety list.

Zimbabwe’s seed system is supported by vibrant public and private breeding programs that develop improved varieties to respond to farmers and consumers’ needs.