SPOTLIGHT: Building resilient phytosanitary systems in Africa

Posted on أربعاء, 18 فبراير 2026, 13:48

In this month’s spotlight interview, Saliou Niassy, Coordinator of the African Union Inter-African Phytosanitary Council (AU-IAPSC) and Mohamed Habib Ben Jamaa, Executive Director of the Near East and North Africa Plant Protection Organization (NEPPO), discuss strengthening plant pest surveillance …

SPOTLIGHT: Getting ahead of emerging plant pests of global concern: How the Pest Outbreak and Alert Response System is taking shape

Posted on جمعة, 13 فبراير 2026, 09:05

Plant pests do not respect borders. In recent years, a growing number of pests have begun spreading faster and farther, affecting crops, ecosystems and livelihoods across regions and in some cases posing risks of global concern. Often, by the time …

SPOTLIGHT: From vulnerability to food resilience: Improved pest surveillance to catalyse Sierra Leone’s agricultural improvement

Posted on أربعاء, 17 ديسمبر 2025, 08:57

On a scorching afternoon, in Sumbuya village, Kakua chiefdom, Bo District, three farm workers—Mamie Squire, Mohamed Yambasu and Morie Lavai stand in a sprawling 1000-acre cashew farm as 40 phytosanitary specialists, crop and crop protection officers from Sierra Leone’s Ministry …

How the next-generation of Commodity Standards are shaping safer global trade — with Joanne Wilson and Lihong Zhu

Posted on إثنين, 15 ديسمبر 2025, 07:50

In this month’s spotlight, we highlight the work of the Technical Panel on Commodity Standards (TPCS) through insights from its Steward and Standards Committee (SC) member, Joanne Wilson, and its selected TPCS Chairperson, Lihong Zhu.

1. What is the purpose …

SPOTLIGHT: What’s in a name? The Importance of the Glossary of Phytosanitary Terms

Posted on جمعة, 31 أكتوبر 2025, 19:23

Rome, 24 October 2025. Language is more than a tool for communication; it is the pillar of plant health cooperation. For the global phytosanitary community, shared terminology is essential to keep trade safe, prevent the introduction of pests and …

SPOTLIGHT: Building a resilient frontline against plant pests in Mali

Posted on ثلاثاء, 09 سبتمبر 2025, 07:37

Agriculture is vital to Mali’s economy and food security, with mango production playing a significant role in enhancing livelihoods for millions of farmers and creating jobs across the value chain. The West African country produces about 800 000 tonnes of …

SPOTLIGHT: Setting the standard: the global efforts behind plant health protection

Posted on ثلاثاء, 08 يوليو 2025, 11:43

Plant pests are responsible for the loss of up to 40 percent of global food crops every year. International standards help countries protect plant health and secure food supplies for a growing world population. ©FAO/Miguel Schincariol

How international standards keep …

SPOTLIGHT: How the IPPC Plant Health Campus is shaping the future of global learning — with Sarah Brunel and Cristina Petracchi

Posted on خميس, 26 يونيو 2025, 08:31

As a spotlight feature for this month we speak to Sarah Brunel, IPPC Officer in charge for day-to-day matters and Implementation and Facilitation Unit Lead, IPPC Secretariat and Cristina Petracchi, Head of the FAO elearning Academy

What is the IPPC …

SPOTLIGHT: Ethiopia’s phytosanitary capacity assessment to build stronger systems and accelerate legal reform

Posted on ثلاثاء, 17 يونيو 2025, 07:40

While Ethiopia has been providing phytosanitary services for over three decades to protect and conserve the country’s agriculture and biodiversity, no comprehensive national phytosanitary capacity evaluation (PCE) had been undertaken until 2024. A PCE is essential for evaluating a country’s …

SPOTLIGHT: Zimbabwe to combat plant pests with quarantine upgrades

Posted on ثلاثاء, 03 يونيو 2025, 13:17

Zimbabwe is upgrading its quarantine systems, constructing new border posts and inspection procedures, as new plant pests recently detected in Africa pose significant risks to the country’s agricultural sector.

In particular, the 2024 discovery of Goss’s Wilt in neighboring South …

SPOTLIGHT: Dominican Republic leads with One Health innovation to safeguard food security

Posted on إثنين, 12 مايو 2025, 16:12

As an island nation deeply reliant on agriculture and tourism, the Dominican Republic faces unique risks from the introduction and spread of plant pests. These threats—intensified by global trade, tourism, and climate change—can jeopardize key crops such as plantains, beans, …

SPOTLIGHT: As its economy grows, Uganda prepares to increase exports of fresh plant produce

Posted on ثلاثاء, 22 إبريل 2025, 08:21

Cut flowers, live trees, avocados, bananas, and green chilies. In the last 20 years, Uganda’s exports, which are dominated by plants and plant products, have increased sixfold to more than USD 6 billion a year. Driven by demand and government …

SPOTLIGHT: Public-private partnership saves South Africa’s fruit industry from the Mediterranean fruit fly

Posted on ثلاثاء, 08 إبريل 2025, 11:38

For over a decade, South Africa has used a public-private partnership approach to manage the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann)), or Medfly, which threatens its fruit industry. Considering this an effective pest management approach, the Strategic Planning Group …

Spotlight: IPPC phytosanitary capacity development in action

Posted on ثلاثاء, 25 مارس 2025, 08:13

Rome, 20 March 2025. Delegates at the Nineteenth Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-19), commended the progress in developing and adopting International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) implementation and capacity development (ICD) resources and called for more funding. From …