UK supports pest control in Africa with $1.2m

…FAO says pest accounts for 60% crop losses

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has received a contribution of $1.2 million (£ 950 000) from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to support the implementation of the Africa Phytosanitary Programme (APP).

The APP is an initiative of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) designed to strengthen the technical capacity of personnel in national plant protection organizations – government agencies responsible for phytosanitary work.

According to the FAO, annually, pests cause between 30 to 60% of crop losses in Africa, resulting in an economic cost of about $65.58 billion.

“These losses leave millions of people at risk of food insecurity, impact small-scale and commercial farmers’ livelihoods and hinder regional and international trade of agricultural commodities”, FAO noted.

Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General and Interim IPPC Secretary, said “This contribution to the APP will strengthen Africa’s phytosanitary capacity, enhancing our collective efforts to combat plant pests. Robust plant health systems are essential for safeguarding food security, enhancing biosecurity, facilitating trade, and protecting livelihoods across the continent.”

The APP implementation targets all 54 African countries, with phase one underway in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Phase two will be launched in 2025 with eight countries: Algeria, Cabo Verde, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Malawi, South Africa and Tunisia.

The FAO noted the United Kingdom, since becoming a member of FAO in 1945, had helped in promoting a sustainable agriculture and global food security by supporting the Organization’s strategic work in areas such as agricultural statistics, nutrition and food security analysis, development cooperation, resilience and peace-building, and climate change.

“The most recent contribution from the UK’s International Biological Security Programme will bolster a key area of FAO’s work, helping to prevent, detect and manage plant pests that have the potential to move quickly and easily across borders and cause significant economic and environmental damage”, the Organization added.

Alexander Jones, Director of FAO’s Resource Mobilization Division said “We applaud the support of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to strengthen phytosanitary systems across Africa.

“As global travel and trade increase, improving the technical capacities of national plant protection organizations so that they are able to identify and respond to threats as they emerge is an investment whose impacts will be felt at a global level.”

The United Kingdom has been a strong advocate for plant health throughout the years, lending support to various IPPC initiatives such as the International Year of Plant Health, the first International Plant Health Conference, the IPPC ePhyto Solution, and assessment and management of climate change impacts on plant health.

The United Kingdom is also closely engaged in the development and implementation of the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs), which provide the basis for countries to make national legislation, guidelines, and measures to protect their plant resources from pests.