IPPC Regional Workshop for Latin America held virtually to strengthen plant protection in the region

Rome, 10 September 2021. The Regional Plant Protection Organizations of Latin America held their annual IPPC Regional Workshop virtually from 1 to 7 September. Updates and reports on governance and strategy by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and remarks by regional and IPPC Secretariat representatives were broadcast in prerecorded presentations and live summaries.

Under the chairpersonship of Ezequiel Ferro, IPPC Standards Committee Chairperson, over 100 registered participants from 20 Latin American countries learned about IPPC activities and shared views, information and updates on phytosanitary initiatives in the region. The IPPC Secretariat and Regional Plant Protection Organization representatives gave topic reviews and received comments on eight draft standards and one CPM recommendation, including:

• Requirements for the establishment of pest free areas
• Phytosanitary import regulatory system
• Use of irradiation as a phytosanitary measure
• Glossary of phytosanitary terms
• Audits in the phytosanitary context
• Commodity-based standards for phytosanitary measures

Reports and updates on the status of plant health and various phytosanitary activities in Latin America were given by different regional stakeholders and organizations, including the Andean Community (CAN); the Southern Community of Plant Health (COSAVE); the International Organization for Regional Phytosanitary Plant Health (OIRSA); the Interamerica Institute of Cooperation for Agriculture (IICA); and the FAO Subregional Office for Mesoamerica.

Presentations on the major activities undertaken by the IPPC community over the past year included the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) closure and the regional work on the emergency action responses to the Fusarium Race TR4 situation in Peru. The IPPC Secretariat encouraged all regional and national plant protection organizations to continue implementing the IYPH legacy, especially the proclamation of the International Day of Plant Health championed by the government of Zambia.

Workshop participants were asked to complete a survey poll on National Reporting Obligations prior to closing the Latin America Regional Workshop. The objective of the survey was to gauge an understanding of National Reporting Obligations and to measure workshop participants’ knowledge of IPPC requirements.

Learn more

2021 Regional Workshop video : English | Arabic | French | Spanish | Chinese | Russian

Report [available soon]