Workshop on integrated and cross-border pest management strategies

 

By Chipiliro Kansilanga

African member states have been encouraged to be vigilant in seeking sustainable solutions to challenges encountered in the management of plant health across the continent, to ensure food security.

This was said on Monday by Her Excellency Madame Josepha Correia Sacko, AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture when she officially opened the 2020 Workshop on Integrated Pest Management Strategies and Migratory/Cross-Border Pest Management, organized by the African Union Inter-African Phytosanitary Council (AU-IAPSC).

The 3-day virtual workshop seeks to build the capacity of Member States in IPM strategies, particularly considering challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Madame Sacko said sharing of information through this forum and establishing partnerships for a broad IPM approach is crucial in ensuring that a harmonized approach is not only solid but also that it works to the benefit of all member states in the area of plant health.

“There is no better time for such workshops, facilitating fruitful results that will go a long way in reducing the negative effects of pests and diseases, which pose a major threat to food security and poverty reduction in the continent,” she said.

In his remarks, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for Cameroon, where the meeting is hosted, Gabriel Mbairobe, commended AU-IAPSC for bringing together various stakeholders to deliberate on IPM strategies, noting that the spread of transboundary pests and diseases of plants has increased dramatically in recent years, hence the need to continuously tackle it through such discussions.

At the meeting, member states are also sharing case studies of IPM strategies at national, regional and continental level, as a way of sharing knowledge and learning from each other, on what could be effective in various spheres.

On its part, AU-IAPSC is also sharing various strategies aimed at minimizing pest damage through the careful integration of available pest control technologies, as well as seeking a broader approach to enhancing coordination of information among Member States through National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPO’s).

Among other expectations, member states will come up with recommendations for IPM strategies and cross-border pest management, as a way of addressing challenges facing the continent in those areas.