About
The Seed Control and Certification Institute (SCCI) is a department under the Ministry of Agriculture. The Institute is a center of excellence for all seed services in Zambia.
SCCI is the seed certification authority in the country and is accredited to the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA). This accreditation entails that test procedures applied conform to international recognition. The institute uses International Union for Protection of Plant Varieties (UPOV) guidelines on plant variety testing, registration and granting of Plant Breeders’ Rights.
The seed certification scheme is based on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to which SCCI is a member. Certification procedures are therefore internationally recognized facilitating seed exports from Zambia.
Mandate
The mandate is derived for the plant variety and seeds ACT (CAP 236) which provides for the regulation and control of the production, sale and import of seed for sowing and of the export of seed, and to provide for the testing and for minimum standards of germination and purity thereof, and further to provide for the certification of seed and for matters incidental to or connected with the foregoing.