1 Pier Giacomo Bianchi Chairman of the Specialised Section UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON THE STANDARDISATION OF SEED POTATOES REPORT TO THE WORKING PARTY ACTIVITY 2007

2 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES MEETING 2007 CHANGINS (11 JANUARY): BUREAU GENEVA (19-21 MARCH): ANNUAL MEETING MOSCOW (20-23 AUGUST): EXTENDED BUREAU

3 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES ACTIVITY 2007 FOCUS ON: DEVELOPMENT PROMOTION OF THE STANDARD

4 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES DEVELOPMENT OF THE STANDARD PROPOSAL OF AMENDMENTS ITEMS BEING DISCUSSED

5 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES PROPOSAL OF AMENDMENTS OF THE STANDARD ASSESSMENT KEY FOR COMMON AND NETTED SCAB, AND POWDERY SCAB PURPOSE OF COMPARATIVE TRIALS PROVISIONS CONCERNING SAMPLING AND HOMOGENEITY OF THE LOT.

6 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES ASSESSMENT KEY FOR COMMON AND NETTED SCAB, AND POWDERY SCAB (Annex VIII)

7 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES PURPOSE OF COMPARATIVE TRIALS (ANNEX VI I. PURPOSE OF THE COMPARATIVE TRIALS) to read: “The examination of seed potatoes in plots enables the assessment of the conditions specified in annex IV for randomly selected seed lots put on the market.”

8 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES PROVISIONS CONCERNING SAMPLING AND HOMOGENEITY OF THE LOT (SECTION III D. SAMPLING) to read: “Sampling of seed potatoes for certification purposes shall be carried out officially or under official supervision. To assess compliance with Annex III, tuber samples, representative of the lot, shall be taken at a minimum rate of 20 kg for each kg and may be collected either during grading or from at least 2 containers. More samples may be taken if one of the initial samples is close to tolerance.”

9 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES PROVISIONS CONCERNING SAMPLING AND HOMOGENEITY OF THE LOT (SECTION VI C. NATURE OF CONTENTS OF CONTAINERS, SECOND PARAGRAPH) to read: “A lot should be sufficiently homogeneous which means that seed potatoes within different containers are as uniform as is practical and will not vary excessively in composition and appearance.”

10 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES ITEMS BEING DISCUSSED Common position on PTNRD Procedures for assessment of non-compliance at destination. Exchange of practices for taking samples for tuber inspection Images to complement the List of Diseases and Pests Questionnaire on the implementation of UNECE standards at national level

11 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES PROMOTION OF THE STANDARD POTATO RUSSIA 2007 UNECE WEEKLY PROTOTYPE FOR A TRAINING COURSE CO-OPERATION WITH OECD AND EU

12 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES FUTURE WORK procedures for assessment of non-compliance at destination sampling procedure for inclusion in the Standard PTNRD images for the list of diseases and pests Erwinia PCN (potato cyst nematode) exchange of information on crop inspection practices control under official supervision and accreditation systems electronic certification exchange of information on post-harvest tests vigour

13 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES NEXT MEETINGS SPECIALISED SECTION – Geneva March 2008 EXTENDED BUREAU – The Nedherlands October 2008 SPECIALISED SECTION – Geneva March 2009 EXTENDED BUREAU – Belgium October 2009 SPECIALISED SECTION - March 2010 EXTENDED BUREAU – Canada October 2010

14 UNECE SPECIALISED SECTION ON SEED POTATOES Thank you, for your kind attention