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THE International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) has approved the re-accreditation of the country’s National seed testing laboratory housed at the Seed Testing Institute.

In a statement the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Dr John Basera said the development had come in the wake of a successful technical and systems audit carried out by international auditors at the National Seed testing laboratory this year.

The accreditation is critical in facilitation of trade and market access of the country’s seed consignments and varieties, which in turn expand Zimbabwe’s export market.

“Accreditation to such an international standard setting forms the backbone for the sustenance and the development of Zimbabwe’s seed industry competitiveness and is a key enabler for local and international seed trade,” said Dr Basera.

The physical audits that provided the basis for re-accreditation are part of the routine checks that are carried out on member laboratories every three years as a pre-requisite.

“In-between audits, member laboratories are monitored through participation in proficiency tests to check on internal competency in comparison with other international laboratories three times every year,” said Dr Basera.

The accreditation by ISTA enables the Seed Services Institute to issue Orange International Certificates (OICs) for seed consignments for international trade.
These OICs are issued after laboratory analyses of seed samples using protocols prescribed by ISTA, therefore the system provides a platform for science based validation of seed testing methods.

In addition, seed quality is one of the key aspects of the agricultural transformation agenda in relation with ensuring food security for the country amid climate change and disturbances in global trade rising from the conflict in eastern Europe.

Dr Basera further highlighted that besides facilitating a strong platform for trade, the accreditation of the National seed testing laboratory ISTA also provided periodic skills development training to seed scientists and technicians to keep well-informed with modern technological developments in the seed industry.

The ISTA as a network of 130 members, is important in ensuring and promoting uniformity in the seed testing industry.
The development comes at a time the Government has been working to guarantee national seed security, as the country moves to increase demand due to expansion of hectrage under strategic crops.

Essentially, the Government through the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy is aiming to grow the agriculture sector to an US$8, 2 billion economy by 2025.