The Federal Plant Variety Office (BSA)
Efficient plant varieties belong to the most important means of production in agriculture and horticulture. The tremendous improvement in the performance of German agriculture and horticulture over the past 50 years would not have been possible without the achievements in plant breeding. The effects of this success range from the increase in hectare yields to progress in value for cultivation of many crop species and, in many cases, to higher levels of resistance to plant diseases and pests. In order to promote plant breeding and the introduction of new, constantly improved varieties into agricultural and horticultural practice, a reliable legal and administrative framework is indispensable.
This framework is provided by the Law of Plant Breeders’ Rights which on the one hand protects the plant breeders' ownership of an intellectual property and by the Seed Act which on the other hand regulates the addition of high-value varieties to the National List and therefore safeguards the interests of farmers and other seed consumers.
The responsibility for both the granting of Plant Breeders’ Rights and for the registration of varieties in the National List lies in the hands of the Bundessortenamt, an independent senior federal authority under the supervision of the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. Furthermore, the Bundessortenamt is responsible for the coordination of general variety and seed affairs on the national scale.
Please visit our website www.bundessortenamt.de to find further information.
