Seed production in Cyprus

In Cyprus, the Department of Agriculture has been dealing with the production, processing, testing and marketing of quality seed since 1945. To expand these activities, the Seed Production Centre - with storage, processing and testing facilities - was established in 1965 in Nicosia. The present status of seed production is as follows. The Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) is responsible for the breeding, evaluation and maintenance of new varieties, while the Seed Committee of the Department of Agriculture decides on the release of new varieties selected by the ARI. The production of seed of high quality is supported by seed testing; seed certification covering cereal, forage and vegetable crops; and seed legislation. Breeder seed is produced by the ARI; basic seed by the Agronomy Section of the Department of Agriculture, certified seed by reliable seed growers under contract; and commercial seed by farmers. Seed processing and storage is carried out at the Seed Production Centre. At present, the Centre annually handles about 8.500 t of cereal seed. 600 t of forage seed, and small quantities of vegetable seed, for a total value of 2.7 million USD. The above quantities of cereal seed cover about 90-95 % of the total seed requirements of the growers. The marketing of cereal and forage seed is conducted by the Seed Production Centre through the Village Cooperative Credit Societies, which provide farmers with the necessary credit for seed purchases. At present, the price of certified cereal seed is about 35 % higher than that offered for commercial grain. This difference in price is to cover all the expenses incurred. Demonstration fields and a wide range of media (radio, television and printed material) are used to promote new varieties. The main constraints facing the seed-production industry are, lack of silos for the temporary storage of seed delivered in bulk at the Seed Production Centre; inadequate seed-processing facilities; inadequacy of mechanization and weed control of grain legumes; shortage of new varieties of food legumes; and lack of a government pricing policy for the promotion of grain legumes