Forest Seed and Plant Marketing Regulations - Forest Reproductive Material (FRM)

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is responsible for implementing EU Council Directive 1999/105/EC on the marketing of forest reproductive material.

Forest reproductive material (FRM) describes seeds, plants and cuttings, which are important for forestry purposes.

The aim of the legislation is to ensure that forest reproductive material, which is marketed, is from approved suitable sources and is clearly labelled and identified throughout the entire process from tree seed collection to processing, storage, forest nursery production and delivery to the final forest user.

DAFM is also the National Designated Authority in Ireland for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Scheme for the Certification of Forest Reproductive Material Moving in International Trade otherwise known as the ‘OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme’.

The international scheme encourages the production and use of forest seeds, parts of plants and plants that have been collected, transported, processed, raised and distributed in a manner that ensures their trueness to name. Material covered by the scheme is intended for use in a variety of forestry purposes.

Post Brexit, the OECD scheme is the certification system required for all imports and exports of forest reproductive material to and from Great Britain.

Forest seed and plants are also subject to the requirements of the EU Plant Health Regulation 2016/2031 on protective measures against pests of plants.

The following services are available:

• registration of forest basic material – Seed stands, Seed Orchards, Parents of Families, Clones, Clonal mixtures.
• registration of suppliers of forest reproductive material - seed collectors, nurseries, seed and plant importers and brokers
• issuing of Seed Collection Permits and Master Certificates of Provenance
• certification of exports of forest seeds and plants to non-EU countries, who are members of the OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme such as UK(GB)
• advice on forest reproductive material regulations

For additional information on Forest Reproductive Material (FRM), see the documents and links below:

Statutory Instrument No. 618, European Communities (Marketing of Forest Reproductive Material) Regulations 2002

FORMATIS - The EU Commission's Forest Reproductive Material Information System (FOREMATIS) provides a search tool for forest breeders, forest nursery workers, experts and the public, functioning as a repository linked with EU countries' data of planted tree species.

OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme - The OECD Scheme for the Certification of Forest Reproductive Material Moving in International Trade seeks to encourage the production and use of forest tree seeds or plants that have been collected, processed, raised, labelled and distributed in a manner that ensures their trueness to name.

Learn more on the future of EU rules on plant and forest reproductive material.