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Posted on Mon, 28 Feb 2022, 14:01 ROME, 28 February 2022. The Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) organized the second virtual technical workshop on phytosanitary measures for contracting parties in developing countries from 21 to 25 February. The workshop was supported by the IPPC China project “Strengthening the Capacity of Developing Contracting Parties to Implement the IPPC and its Standards under FAO-China South-South Cooperation Programme.” The workshop was attended by 112 participants from 41 countries. including 16 countries in Africa, 13 in Asia and the Pacific, four in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, four in the Latin America Region and four in the Near East and North Africa. In his opening remarks, Jingyuan Xia, Director of FAO Plant Production and Protection Division stated, “The IPPC-China project is an important undertaking supported by the FAO-China South-South Cooperation programme. With USD two million of funding, the project focuses on improving the phytosanitary capacity of developing countries of the IPPC. The main activities supported through the project covered organization of 5 IPPC regional workshops, two IPPC high-level symposia, and two technical workshops (virtual), as well as delivery of international year of plant health 2020 and implementation of FAO global action on FAW control.” He emphasized that the second virtual workshop aimed to build the capacity of contracting parties in developing countries by promoting bilateral and regional cooperation on phytosanitary issues and to share information on technology and products. Jianmin Xie, Counsel (DG level) of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), affirmed his commitment to the IPPC: “China is always willing to share its phytosanitary technologies and plant protection experience with developing countries,” he said. “This is to jointly improve their ability to honor their commitment to the IPPC and to contribute to world food security and agricultural sustainability,” he added. Jianmin Xie commended the achievements of the IPPC Secretariat and the activities under the IPPC-China Project. Participants were given an overview of the FAO-China South-South cooperation and the agricultural development and perspectives in the People’s Republic of China. Participants also learned about the impact of pests and how to control them using integrated measures. These include monitoring and early warning, using new technologies such as pest radar, and employing agricultural control such as the use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) such as Bt cotton. Other pest control measures include physical control, ecological regulation and the use of biotechnologies. Participants further benefited from the presentation on institutional innovation and technological development trends of China’s entry and exit plant quarantine, and on the Chinese agricultural technology extension system. Many participants showed interest on how China’s NPPO supervises and manages its a vast plant health management system, comprising of 2 956 institutions. Participants also learned about China’s phytosanitary laws and regulations and how plant quarantine measures are implemented in 6 000 monitoring sites distributed across 31 provinces. Some participants inquired knowledge about the availability, accessibility and cooperation channels of China’s latest phytosanitary technology and tools. The second virtual technical workshop was organized with the support of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP), the South-South and Triangular Cooperation (PST) Division, the Center of International Cooperation Service (CICOS) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of the People’s Republic of China, the General Administration of Customs of China, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the National Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center. More information: IPPC Global Project on Capacity Development under the framework of the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Programme

Posted on Wed, 23 Feb 2022, 17:15 Rome, 21 February 2022. The causal agent responsible for the citrus greening or Huanglongbing (HLB), one of the most destructive citrus diseases, has a new adopted international diagnostic protocol. Caused by the bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter, HLB is one of the greatest threats to the citrus industry worldwide, mainly affecting citrus and other plants in the Rutaceae family. The disease is widespread in Asia, Africa and the Americas, transmitted by two different insect vectors: the African citrus psyllid (Trioza erytreae) in Africa, and the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri) in Asia and the Americas. To protect citrus plants from this devastating disease and facilitating their safe trade worldwide, the Standards Committee (SC) has adopted a new diagnostic protocol on behalf of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) after a 45-day notification period. The newly adopted Diagnostic Protocol 31 is added as an Annex to the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measure on diagnostic protocols for regulated pests (ISPM 27) and focuses on the three main species of Candidatus Liberibacter: ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’, ‘Candidatus Liberibacter africanus’ and ‘Candidatus Liberibacter americanus’. It provides guidelines on detection and identification, ranging from biological indexing to molecular tests. Fruits affected by the HLB disease have a bitter and salty taste, and are usually smaller than the healthy ones. They often fail to develop normal fruit color, and can fall prematurely. Leaf yellowing is the first symptom of the disease, followed by mottling and chlorosis in one shoot or sector of the tree. Leaves on weak terminal twigs become small, upright and show a variety of chlorotic patterns. The development of the diagnostic protocol on Candidatus Liberibacter spp. on Citrus spp. has been on the work programme of the Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols for many years. Since 2004, it has gone through several preparation stages, including expert consultations, consultation periods, technical panel’s reviews and finally the adoption of the Standards Committee on behalf of the CPM. This complex and long process ensures that the adopted Diagnostic Protocols reflect international best practices and that the guidance they provide is applicable to phytosanitary systems globally. Good diagnostics rely on several factors, including the availability of human and financial resources. Yet, having support from internationally accepted protocols is also crucial, especially for those countries that do not have the resources to develop protocols of their own. As outlined in the CPM Recommendation 7, accurate and rapid pest diagnosis underpins phytosanitary certification, import inspections, surveillance and the application of appropriate phytosanitary treatments. The Diagnostic Protocol 31 will be available soon at the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures page. Learn more: Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures DP Notification Period

By Brian Mwale; Government has temporarily suspended the issuance of import permits for onions, pending completion of discussions with the Zambia National Farmers Union -ZNFU. This follows ZNFU President, JERVIS ZIMBA’s disclosure that 23-Million Kwacha worth of onions risk going to waste, if imports of the commodity are not halted. Agriculture Permanent Secretary, GREEN MBOZI has confirmed government’s decision, saying discussions with the ZNFU have since started, to ascertain national production and consumption levels of onions. Mr MBOZI has however told ZNBC News that government does not want to create an unnecessary shortage as was the case last year, when the imports were banned. And an Onion farmer from Sinda district, Eastern province, LEVISON NKHOMA said the low prices of imported onions have affected the pricing of local onions, which are produced at a high cost. ONION IMPORTS SUSPENDED ~ (znbc.co.zm)

Posted on Tue, 15 Feb 2022, 21:44 Commodity standards for phytosanitary measures are crucial to safeguard plant-based agriculture, protect the environment and facilitate safe trade. The development of commodity and pathway-specific standards is a key component of the IPPC Strategic Framework 2020-2030. Included amongst the key programmes of the IPPC development agenda for 2020-2030, the adoption of commodity-specific standards is expected to facilitate and accelerate trade negotiations and simplify safe trade in plant products by 2030. The IPPC standard setting work will focus more and more on commodity- or pathway-specific topics in the near future. Seven pathways standards have been already adopted over the past few years, covering wood packaging material, movement of seed, wood, growing media, as well as used vehicles, machinery and equipment. A draft International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures on Commodity specific standards will be presented for adoption at the sixteenth session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measure (CPM-16) in April 2022 and will include annexes for specific commodities. To learn more about these standards and the work of the IPPC on this direction, national and regional plant protection organizations are invited to attend the IPPC webinar on Commodity Standards that will take place on Wednesday, 16 February. This will be a unique opportunity to find out why commodity-based standards are so important and what the global plant health community is doing to develop and implement these standards at the global level. The event will also provide a platform to discuss potential partnerships and networks for the development of specific commodity standards. Phytosanitary and standard setting experts from different regions of the world will address key issues around the concept and principles of commodity standards and the work of the global plant health community in the upcoming years. They will also focus on potential benefits and challenges countries can meet while implementing these standards, especially developing and least developed countries. The draft ISPM that will be presented at CPM-16 and the work of the Technical Panel for Commodity Standards around it will be also central in the discussion. Interested participants can register to the morning session from 9 to 11 am (Rome time) or the evening session from 5 to 7 pm (Rome time). The webinar will be in English with interpretation in all the other UN official languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish). Register to the morning session Register to the afternoon session Learn more about the programme of the event….. Commodity standards, a webinar explains new directions in the IPPC work – International Plant Protection Convention

Feb 12, 2022, 07:12 AM IST India and Australia plan to finalise an Interim Trade Agreement in the next 30 days. The deal will cover goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs procedure, and legal and Institutional issues. The two sides have accommodated and respected each other’s sensitivities, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and Australia’s trade, tourism and investment minister Dan Tehan said in New Delhi on Friday. “The good part of this friendship is that we have respected each other’s sensitivities,” Goyal said at a joint press conference after concluding their 3-day talks. “And the agreement is only a win-win with absolutely no negatives for both sides… So it’s a win-win agreement, which will satisfy the interests of people and businesses on both sides.” The two nations are expected to sign the interim agreement in March and the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) is expected to be concluded in 12 months thereafter. Read more at:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/india-australia-trade-agreement-to-respect-each-others-sensitivities-piyush-goyal-oz-minister/articleshow/89516159.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Posted on Thu, 03 Feb 2022, 12:50 Rome, 28 January 2022. The Expert Working Group (EWG) for the Annex Criteria for the determination of host status of fruit to fruit flies based on available information convened their virtual meeting to draft an annex to the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures n. 37 (ISPM 37) on Determination of host status of fruit to fruit flies (Tephritidae). The IPPC international standards have been a basis for the application and harmonization of acceptable and technically justified measures applied in international trade. The ISPM 37 describes requirements for determining the host status of a particular fruit to an economically important Tephritidae fruit fly species and designates three categories of host status. The intention of this annex is to promote consistent harmonization of terms used by risk analysts and the phytosanitary community with the ones defined in ISPM 37. It also provides guidance to evaluate criteria consistently when reviewing information and determining fruit fly host status in pest risk analysis. Over the years, literature published on fruit fly host lists has challenged pest risk analysts uncertainty pertaining to these resources. The annex will be crucial to help prevent future trade challenges over whether National Plant Protection Organizations should regulate a particular product based on variable fruit fly host status. The Annex developed by the EWG is planned to be presented to the Standards Committee (SC) in May where it will be considered for approval for first consultation from 1 July to 30 September 2022. The meeting report of the EWG once ready, will be available at the following link: https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/standards-setting/expert-drafting-groups/expert-working-groups/