For farmers across Africa and the world at large, tackling crop pest problems is a major challenge.
Currently, between 30-40% of crops on average are lost to pests; and while the technology and knowledge exist to reduce losses, vital plant health information remains out of reach for many farmers.
It is therefore up to each country to find solutions through research, regulation, education and extension services to improve access to knowledge and reporting for sustainable plant health management.
Last week in Accra, four African countries converged to outline actions for coordinated pest management and pesticide risk reduction. The goal was to build linkages to enable safe and sustainable food security at national, regional and global levels.
Convened by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Centre for Agricultural Bioscience International (CABI)-led Plantwise programme was one of recent efforts to better integrate plant health activities and resources in the region.
The first workshop in February 2014 was held by held by IPPC and Plantwise in Nairobi, Kenya, bringing together officials from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Following its success, the Accra workshop targetted countries in Western and Southern Africa; namely Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Zambia.
The FAO’s Pesticide Management Group was also on hand to emphasise that countries should not only focus on growing more but growing more with reduced risk.
Other resource persons from Bostwana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Italy, Kenya, Switzerland and the United Kingdom attended the event to share experiences with participants.
Supporting the national Plant Protection Organisations (NPPOS) in meeting pest-reporting obligations is one of the primary goals of the IPPC.
This international treaty applies to most nations involved with international trade in any commodity that could introduce a pest of plants into a new area which may threaten food security and the environment, including agriculture -- in other words, it is applicable to all trans-boundary movement of plants and plant products.
The 181 signatories agree to meet a number of reporting obligations including collection, verification and distribution of pest and pest-related information.
David Nowell of the IPPC Secretariat told participants in Accra that addressing national plant health issues and meeting national reporting obligations is not only about IPPC contracting parties working together or FAO members working together, but is actually for everyone in development to address.
“It is essential to find ways of increasing collaboration and synergies between NPPOs and research and extension services for countries to meet their reporting obligations.
“It’s unfortunate to report that most countries -- including developed countries - don’t fulfil all their reporting obligations. This doesn’t reflect well on the countries concerned, but it also means that we are less able to achieve the goals of the convention; that is, preventing the introduction and spread of pests,†Dr. Lamourdia Thiombiano, Deputy regional Representative FAO Regional Office for Africa said at the workshop’s opening.
To buttress the point, Mark Davies, Senior Officer of the Pesticide Management Group at FAO, said the issue is not about every country having a laboratory for pesticide regulation; it’s about every country having access to quality analysis.
“This is where collaboration between government, universities and the private sector are so important. If countries have proper regulations in place and effective implementation, we are likely to reduce damage from pests.â€Â
All farmers have an interest in protecting their plants and producing more, and providing the appropriate advice will help them do this safely, Davis added.
Dr. Washington Otieno, Plantwise Regional Coordinator for Africa, said after Accra Plantwise will continue organising such workshops and bringing on board new partners and stakeholders.
“As a growing market with lots of challenges, Africa is of high priority for the Plantwise programme and its partners -- but we also need to touch on other continents where Plantwise is being implemented.â€Â
By Konrad K. Djaisi | B&FT Online | Ghana
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