History

In the year 2001 we commemorated  the 50 th anniversary of the establishment of the Central and Testing Institute in agriculture in Bratislava, Slovakia (ÚKSÚP).

As a milestone in the history of the Central Controlling and Testing Institute in Agriculture (ÚKSÚP) may be considered  January 1, 1951, when the Czechoslovak Central Controlling and Testing Institute in Agriculture (ÚKZÚZ), based in Prague, with its branch offices in Žatec, Brno, Bratislava and Košice was established in application of the Decree of the Ministry of Agriculture  No 95/1951 U.I. and No. 107/1951 U.v. The Institute was created as a result of  rearrangements  covering National Agricultural Research  Institutes (ŠVÚP), whereby supervisory and  testing activities  thereof were brought under the authority of the Czechoslovak Central  Controlling and Testing Institute in Agriculture (ÚKZÚZ). In addition to the creation  of the Czechoslovak Central Controlling and Testing Institute in Agriculture  (ÚKZÚZ), these rearrangements  with respect to National Agricultural Research Institutes (ŠVÚP) provided an impetus for the establishment of autonomous research institutes in the sphere of agriculture.

The Central Controlling  and Testing Institute in Agriculture (ÚKSÚP) operating on the territory of Slovakia went repeatedly through structural rearrangements , reflecting themselves  in regional activities, functional and organizational relationships and titles assigned to the Institute. November 1, 1957 marks the establishment by virtue of the Decree of the Ministry  of Agriculture and Forestry  No.201 of the Slovak Agricultural Supervisoryb and Testing  Instritute (SLOKSÚP)  based in Bratislava, with Slovakia-wide authority. . The Decree of the Ministry of Agriculture No 22880/460-001 of June 27, 1960, however, reincorporated the Slovak Agricultural Supervisory and Testing Institute (SLOKSÚP) as a regional branch office into the Czechoslovak Central Controlling and Testing Institute in Agriculture (ÚKZÚZ) based in  Prague, having its own direct organizational units likewise in Zvolen and Košice.

Following the reorganization  of Czechoslovakia on federal basis in 1968, and in application of the Decision  of the Minister of Agriculture and Food, based in Prague, of December  17, 1968 No II/4-1178/68/23 and after the relocation of the organizational units of the Czechoslovak Central Controlling and Testinng Institute in Agriculture  (ÚKZÚZ) based  in Prague, the present-day Central Controlling and Testing Institute in Agriculture with Slovakia-wide authority , having its branch offices in Zvolen and Košice and from April 15, 1972 onward with another branch office in Bratislava, was created  as to January 1,  1969. The last one was dissolved in 1992 as part of structural rearrangements.

When looking back at the development of the professional national agricultural supervision and testing in Slovakia, one may not omit certain history-making data.

In 1884, the seed-breeding station of the Royal Hungarian Seed Control Institute in Budapest and Košice was established , which in 1920 was incorporated into the framework of the National Agricultural Research Institutes, bearing the name of Seed Control Institute.

Within the framework of the National Agricultural Institutes (ŠVÚP), the Institute of Agropedology and Bioclimatology was established in April 1921 in Bratislava and in February 1922 in Košice.

Compulsory variety testing was launched on March 17, 1921, whereby until 1951, these activities were carried out by the Seed Control Institute covered  by the National  Agricultural Research Institutes  (ŠVÚP).

The Institute  of Phyto pathology was established  on  May 1, 1921 in Bratislava and  the organizational  unit thereof in Košice on November 1,1922. The Institute of Zootechny was established on January 1, 1925 and the Institute of Dairying  in 1928.

From the historical point of view , the above stated institutes covered by the Nationnal  Agricultural Research Institutes (ŠVÚP) were precursors  of the sections and departments of the Central Controlling and  Testing Institute in Agriculture (ÚKSÚP), where, following certain reductions in activities, supervision  and testing was concentrated into a single supervisory  institution in 1951. The directors of the Central Controlling and Testing Institute in Agriculture  (ÚKSÚP) succeeded each other as follows:

1951 – 1958           Mr. Jozef Jakubík
1958 – 1980           Mr. Martin Lietava
1981 – 1988           Mr. Ambróz Marko
1988 – 1990           Mr. Damián Macák
1990 – 1991           Mr. Elemír Foltín
1991 – 1995           Mr. František Kotvas
1995 – 2003           Mr. Pavel Filkorn
2003 – 2007           Mrs. Anna Vitáriusová
2007                       Mr. Pavel Filkorn