ACP together in Rome to meet the challenges of plant health

The Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) held its 17th face-to-face session from 27–31 March 2023 at the FAO Headquarters in Rome. The event was attended by approximately 400 participants from national and regional plant protection organisations, as well as other partner organisations of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), including COLEAD.

Complimentary to the CPM-17 event, COLEAD organised two events (in French and English) to provide an overview of recent changes in the European plant health regulations. The testimonials of the national plant protection organisations (NPPOs) described the challenges in complying with the European phytosanitary standards, as well as the measures taken to meet these standards. The discussions have stimulated great interest from countries starting this process, and there are plans to continue these exchanges between NPPOs in the future.

COLEAD also presented its support programmes Fit For Market Plus (FFM+) and AGRINFO, as well as the resources available to the horticultural sector in ACP countries in general, and to the relevant authorities in particular.

The countries that participated in these events were Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Togo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as Belize, Bahamas, Barbados, Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The participation of seven representatives was secured under the Memorandum of Understanding between COLEAD and IPPC, through the support of the FFM+ programme.

Representatives from DG Health, the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) Secretariat and IPPC were also present and participated in the discussions.

In addition to this collaboration, and at the request of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), COLEAD (in the framework of the FFM SPS programme) and IPPC have joined forces and shared their expertise to develop three e-learning courses on topics related to plant health. These courses have been developed by plant health experts from around the world, under the guidance of the IPPC Secretariat and with the supervision of the IPPC Implementation and Capacity Building Committee. These online courses, which are accessible to all, will soon be available in French.

This activity is supported by the Fit For Market+ programme, implemented by COLEAD in the framework of the development cooperation between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union; and AGRINFO, a programme funded by the European Union and implemented by COLEAD.

This publication is supported with the financial support of the EU and the OACPS. Its contents are the sole responsibility of COLEAD and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the EU or the OACPS.