Manama - New laws on plant species protection will significantly boost Bahrain’s commercial agriculture sector.
A draft law could soon be passed to provide legal protection for new varieties of plants.
The bill of law was endorsed as His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting.
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, attended.
The law reserves rights of people who breed new varieties of trees or grapes and allows them to exploit the innovative species commercially for 25 years.
It will also benefit those who discover new plant varieties or develop innovative types through the process of hybridisation or any other genetic techniques.
The new species shall then be registered in a special inventory of plant varieties at the Directorate of Plant Resources.
The draft law would also apply to other agricultural crops and ensures them legal protection and sole commercial exploitation for 20 years.
Novelty, excellence, homogeneity and consistency will be required for the new species to be legal products and given a name.
The law, referred to the parliament, encourages the breeding and investment in new or hybrid plant species with a high economic value, said Cabinet secretary general Dr Yasser Al Nasser.
♦ Ministers hailed the success of the Gulf Shield 1 military drill, which was attended by His Majesty King Hamad in Saudi Arabia.
They paid tribute to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and stressed the importance of the exercise in bolstering GCC security.
The session also hailed the effective participation of the BDF in it.
♦ The election of Bahrain as a member of the UN Committee on Non-Government Organisations was hailed. The UN honour was described as an international vote of confidence, reflecting Bahrain’s human rights progress and diplomatic successes.
♦ The Foreign Minister submitted a report highlighting the outcome of the 29th Arab Summit held recently in Dhahran.
It bolstered Arab solidarity, it said.
© Copyright 2018 www.gdnonline.com
Copyright 2018 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
