FAO workshop to review measures on plant health opens

Accra, July 17, GNA - The expansion of trade in plants has led to the introduction of pests in new areas that threaten agriculture, biodiversity and the environment. If this is not well-managed, it could lead to the spread of pests from country to country, Deputy Agriculture Minister Clement Eledi, said on Monday.

Speaking at Regional Workshop for the Review of Draft on International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures for English-speaking Africa in Accra, he said the rapidly expanding tourism, packaging material and movement of used machinery and vehicles all accounted for the increase of pests in new areas. The workshop on Phytosanitary, which deals with issues concerning the health of plants, is to review drafts, including classification of commodities, sampling of consignments, developing a strategy to reduce or replace the use of methyl bromide, establishment of areas of low pest prevalence for fruit flies, among others. The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) was first adopted by the FAo in 1951 to manage the pathways for trans-boundary movement of pest that affect crop production, forests, wild flora and ecosystems.

Mr Eledi noted that the management was achieved through the development and promotion of the use of voluntary International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) among member states. He said that the Convention had attracted 160 countries, with six nearing the final stages of adherence and noted that such involvement by international community demonstrated the willingness and importance of being part of an international body concerned with the trans-boundary movement of pest of plants. Mr Eledi observed that the governing body of the FAO had given the IPPC consistent priority for basic activities of standard settings and information exchanges, among others, without which the growing role of IPPC in providing global public standards to facilitate international agricultural trade could not be achieved. Mr Edouard K. Tapsoba, Officer in-Charge, FAO Regional Office for Africa, denied that ISPMs imposed new obligations could make life more difficult for exporters and importers. He said the harmonisation was developed to ensure that national phytosanitary measures were based on science while reducing the burden of scientific proof.

The ISPMs therefore expedited trade by ensuring that products which left exporting countries complied with technically justified requirement of the importing party, Mr. Tapsoba said, adding that such a system reduced the need for expensive treatment and costly delays on arrivals and enabled importers to plan distribution more accurately and more efficiently. He urged member states that had not signed the convention to do so and reaffirmed the importance that FAO gave to such workshops due to the strength and enhancement it gave African countries in their preparedness to enter international trade arena with a better chance of success. 16 July 07