Accra Sep. 7, GNA - The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Monday advocated the institution of a sub regional requirement for food imports that would promote safe trade as well as reduce the risk posed by pests.
"To prevent the introduction of quarantined pests into our countries, governments must set appropriate requirements for imports," Dr. Edouard K. Tapsoba, Co-ordinator of FAO Sub-Regional Office for Africa said in a speech read for him in Accra, at the opening of a sub-regional workshop on " Pest Risk Analysis".
He said since many of the countries had adopted the World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Agriculture and some were contracting parties to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), it was imperative that phyto-sanitary measures were applied. "Countries that are signatories to these instruments are to adequately apply them to benefit from this relatively new trade environment," he said, adding that, the IPPC standard helped to harmonise phyto-sanitary procedure and provided direct guidance to national plant protection organisations.
Dr Tapsoba expressed the hope that the platform provided by the workshop would lead to further government initiatives toward establishing credible and effective national phyto-sanitary service. About 15 participants are attending the four-day workshop for English-Speaking West African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, the Gambia and Sierra Leone.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr. Ernest K. Debrah noted that many agencies conducted Risk Analysis mainly for regulatory purposes and some of the obstacles that may be encountered by the agencies, included limitations presented by legal parameters, operational procedures and sometimes political pressures. He therefore urged the participants to ensure that scientific findings and policy judgements embodied in risk assessments were explicitly distinguished from the political, economic and technical considerations that influenced the design and choice of strategies to be adopted.
Mr. Debrah said Pest Risk Analysis was a biological tool that was employed to determine risk levels of exotic quarantine significant pest and pathologens, adding that the institution of rules and regulations to protect a country's agriculture through addressing the pest risk associated with its crops was essential. He identified factors that could generate pest risk to include governance, conflict, increased resistance and the several pathways through which the pest could spread. "The impact of these factors are likely to lead to future outbreaks, increase the level of infection, increase risk and reduction in agricultural trade," The Minister said.
Mr. Debrah said the movement of people and commodities across the borders brought along with them some risks that could also be harmful to non-indigenous organisms, adding that it was for this reason that it was vital to estimate the probability of the negative consequences caused by such movements.
He urged the participants to be involved in the review process to enable member countries to move towards a harmonised import of phyto-sanitary mechanisms and also develop skills and expertise for the sub-region in pest risk analysis. As part of the workshop, participants would be taken to Ghana's airport and seaport to review the process being carried out by the Directorate of Plant Protection and Phyto-sanitary services in relation to imports and exports of agricultural products.
