Catalogue description Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: Plant Variety Rights Office and Seeds Division and predecessors: Registered Files, Liaison with National Institute of Agricultural Botany (AK Series)

The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) at Cambridge was set up in 1919, largely on the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries' initiative, to promote seed and crop improvement. It was an independent institution, established under a trust deed, but financed mainly by annual and capital grants from the ministry. It was governed by a council including representatives of the UK Agricultural Departments, Cambridge and other universities, various trade associations, the National Farmers' Union, etc.

Its work covered seed testing; variety testing; seed crop inspection and certification; and seed multiplication and distribution. It tested new varieties of seed, both from home and abroad, to assess their suitability for farming conditions in different parts of the country. It issued lists of recommended varieties based on results of trials it carried out at Cambridge and regional centres. The institute, in close liaison with MAFF, also administered various seed certification schemes. From 1921 it operated, by delegation from the ministry, the Official Seed Testing Station for England and Wales, established by the Seeds Act 1920.