Potato Certification Service
PCS Annual Workshop 2025: Leading Change From Within
Potato Certification Service held its annual workshop outside Pretoria. Working with the high-performance coaching firm, Purposely Ignited, the team is ready to embrace the future!
From Standard to Practice: UNECE Seed Potato Standard (S-1) - Webinar (16 March 2026)
High-quality seed potatoes are essential for a productive, profitable, and resilient potato sector. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Seed Potato Standard (S-1) provides a globally recognised framework for certification and commercial quality control, supporting fair trade and harmonised certification systems.
South Africa’s André Wessels (Potato Certification Service) will join an expert panel in this webinar to discuss key updates in the revised Standard and share country implementation experiences. The session will highlight the rationale behind the revision, outline the main technical updates, and explore the practical implications for certification authorities, producers, and traders involved in international trade.
For more information, visit the UNECE and WPC websites (https://potatocongress.org/webinars/) or contact: agristandards@un.org.
Revised Standard for Seed Potatoes Adopted
The UNECE Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards adopted the revised standard for seed potatoes on 18 November 2025.
(https://unece.org/media/trade/wp.7%20meetings/press/409645)
Commencement of the Plant Improvement Act, 2018 (Act No. 11 of 2018) and Regulations
A media statement was issued by the Department of Agriculture (DoA) regarding the commencement of the Plant Improvement Act, 2018 (Act No. 11 of 2018) and its regulations.
The Act provides a framework for quality control in plant propagation, covering business registration, quality standards, variety listing, import/export, and establishing an advisory committee, bringing new rules for hemp cultivation (low THC), and came into effect on December 1, 2025, to boost food security.
For more information: media-statement-commencement-of-plant-improvement-act
Production Statistics
The latest statistics of records captured on the Potato Certification Service Information System.
Certified Seed Potatoes
Follow the link below to view the South African variety list and the list of distributors of certified seed potatoes.