OECS Commission partners with key stakeholders to develop National Pest Lists
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 — The OECS Commission, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and Barbuda Affairs and the Caribbean Plant Health Directors (CPHD), is hosting a Train The Trainers Programme in developing National Pest Lists at the Heritage Hotel in Antigua from November 14-16, 2016.
The overall objective of the workshop is to improve countries’ capacity to develop their National Pest List in accordance with the principles of transparency outlined in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).
The training will support pest surveillance, facilitate the development of quarantine policy, support trade negotiations and improve national and regional capacity to manage pests. The training will also assist with the process of evaluating biological or other scientific and economic evidence to determine whether a pest should be regulated and, if so, the strength of phytosanitary measures to be taken against it.
The Training Programmes under the 10th EDF in Surveillance, Plant quarantine, Pest risk analysis and the establishment of Risk Analysis Units in the OECS, all complement this workshop and the development of a manual to develop National Pest Lists.
The Train The Trainers Programme, which targets plant health specialists from each OECS country, is funded under the 10th EDF Programme.
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