A National Workshop to Review the South African Emergency Plant Pest Response Plan (SAEPPRP), hosted by the National Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development is well underway, attended by stakeholders in agriculture such as GRAIN SA/GRAAN SA.

The workshop is expected to update the plan (SAEPRP), first adopted in 2013, to keep pace with the latest advancements in plant health both nationally and globally. The workshop encourages input from all stakeholders to ensure a more efficient and responsive strategy to plant pest emergencies.

The South African Emergency Plant Pest Response Plan (SAEPPRP) finds effective ways to detect, identify and mitigate emergency plant pests in South Africa. This is to prevent the establishment and spread of such a pest before the population becomes established; to provide effective and timely communication between local, national and international government agencies, academia, and plant industry professionals when response actions are needed; and to protect and maintain production and business continuity in unaffected areas during a plant pest emergency.

One of the included proposals is the establishment of a centralised, national Emergency Plant Pest (EPP) Fund.

The gross agricultural value of production for horticultural and field crops was well above R60 billion back in 2011. In the same year, R45 billion worth of agricultural produce was exported and R38 billion worth of produce was imported.

GrainSA said this week about an ongoing workshop on the SAEPRP, “by collaborating and sharing insights, we can improve our regulatory frameworks and reinforce sustainable agricultural practices. Together, we will protect South Africa’s plant health and support global food security for future generations. National Department of Agriculture.”

Picture: Supplied

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