The Canadian Nursery Certification Program is a voluntary program developed by the CFIA as a phytosanitary export program. Amendments to the CNCP were reviewed by the industry prior to CFIA’s bilateral meetings with the United States Department of Agriculture to ensure the grower sector was able to comply with the changes to the program. Two key changes to this new draft include a provision for the hiring of third-party verification bodies (auditors) and further restrictions to the amount of plant material that could be brought in from non-certified sources, to 25 per cent of sales by dollar volume. It is CFIA’s intention that the CNCP program use labels instead of phytosanitary certificates. This provision requires USDA approval.
CFIA commented on changes to the current draft of the industry-developed Nursery Quality Assurance (NQA) program, developed as a domestic quality program for nurseries to produce “export-ready” plants to CNCP nurseries. A pilot project is underway in B.C.
The development of a sudden oak death certification program that meets the CFIA’s requirements as a pest- or SOD-free place of production is a top priority for the export dependent B.C. nursery industry.
While each of these and other pest-specific CFIA certification programs can be implemented independently of each other, the development of a Quality Manual for the CNCP and/or NQA process-based quality programs allows for an integrated approach for the implementation of all required certifications. Questions on nursery certification can be directed to Rita Weerdenburg, CNLA Grower’s Technical Analyst, 1-888-446-3499, ext. 50.
