New European seed treatment scheme goes live

The European Seed Treatment Assurance scheme (ESTA), a new assurance scheme for the seed treatment industry, is now available in the UK through the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC).

The move comes as the seed industry seeks to preserve essential plant protection products, to protect the environment and to maintain international trade and ongoing investment.

ESTA was devised by the European Seed Association (ESA) in response to the EU Directive (2010/21) which requires insecticidal seed treatments to ‘only be performed in professional seed treatment facilities.’

The directive results from incidences of bee deaths in Germany, Austria and France, particularly associated with treated maize seed.

Over the past year, AIC has carried out ESTA trial audits and held training sessions in Peterborough and Edinburgh. In the UK, the ESTA scheme will be operated as part of AIC’s Trade Assurance Scheme for Combinable Crops (TASCC), which many seed companies already participate in.

However, companies who are not in TASCC can also be audited as can mobile operations.

The audits will be carried out by the TASCC certification body PAI which is based in Harrogate and has vast experience in delivering assurance audits in the agricultural sector working with both AIC and others.