CARIBBEAN PLANT HEALTH DIRECTORS DISCUSS MEASURES TO GUARD AGAINST PLANT PESTS

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Senior Plant Health Officials from across the Caribbean are seeking to guard against the threat of plant pests.

They will hold a second meeting on the issue on 4-5 March, 2009 at the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat in Guyana as they continue to mobilise their efforts towards the formulation of policy, programmes and projects to combat the threat in the Caribbean.

Convened by the CARICOM Secretariat, the 2009 Meeting of Plant Health Directors follows the inaugural Meeting in 2008. Their work is central to the Caribbean being protected from the invasion of plant pests that could act as a barrier to trade. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agriculture Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), the Inter American Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) have partnered with the CARICOM Secretariat for this meeting.

Four Technical Working Groups (TWGs) established at the first meeting will report on their progress to date and the directors will determine if there is need for additional TWGs to be established. These TWGs cover issues related to: Giant African Snail; Red Palm Mite; Fruit Flies, Palm Pest Complex, Banana Streak Virus, Lethal Yellowing and Emergency Response Plans. At the upcoming meeting the Plant Health Directors have agreed to update information on other pests that are a threat to either the Caribbean as a whole, or individual countries, and will also examine the possibility of the establishment of Pest Free Areas.

Reports on work being done in the prevention and management of plant pests will also be presented by institutions in the Caribbean and beyond including the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI).

The Caribbean Invasive Species Working Group (CISWG), established by the Community’s Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) to coordinate activities on invasive species will also report.

Plant Health is one of the three pillars of a Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary (SPS) regime that countries are required to implement for trade. The other two are Animal Health and Food Safety.