ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANT QUARANTINE AND PHYTOSANITARY SERVICE (PQPS)

The Plant Quarantine and Phytosanitary Service (PQPS) is a new department in the Ministry of Agriculture with a core mandate of providing regulatory services that seek to prevent the introduction and spread of plant pests in the country while facilitating safe movement of plants and plant products both locally and internationally. Zambia is a signatory to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and accordingly, has an obligation to have a National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO). PQPS is the designated NPPO of Zambia. The department derives its mandate from the Plant Pests and Diseases Act, Cap 233 of the Laws of Zambia as the principal law but further makes reference to a number of legislations such as the Noxious Weeds Act, Cap 231, the Coffee Act, Cap 228 the Cotton Act, Cap 227 and the Border Management Act No. 12 of 2018 among others. Linked to the principal Act, are several Statutory Instruments (S.Is) that provude a complementary and supplementary role to the principal Act.

PQPS is obliged under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) trade agreements as well as agreements within the region to comply with internationally recognized standards. The WTO recognizes the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) as the standard setting body for plant health. The IPPC is an international agreement on plant health and currently has 184 member states. It aims to protect cultivated and wild plants by preventing the introduction and spread of pests. As a contracting party, Zambia is required to conform to guidelines set out in the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) developed by the IPPC in addition to enforcing the national legislations related to plant health and trade facilitation.
The department consists of Seven (7) units which undertake different functions. These are the; Communications Documentation and Programme (CDP) unit, The Surveillance Unit, The Pest Risk Analysis Unit, The Inspections Unit, The Boarder Coordination Unit, The standards Unit and The Laboratory Unit.
X