This March 2022, members of national plant protection organizations across East and West Africa will be learning about plant pest identification systems. Over 100 people in the regions are part of this cohort of online learners.
The online training is provided for free at www.SPSCourses.com by the Food Safety Network, a part of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. The AFSI partners are facilitating the training program by creating support systems for learners’ regular access, and by organizing interactive learning activities such as live virtual meetings for Q&A and discussions. Future months will include a virtual discussion board that will house interactions for this community of practice.
The “Plant Pest Identification Systems” module is part of a 14 month training program on plant health. Each month, this cohort of employees from NPPOs in East Africa and West Africa will independently complete the online learning module, and will share questions, issues, and other debriefing discussions on a videoconference at the end of the month. The full schedule is below:
| No. | Module Name at www.SPSCourses.com | Period |
| 1 | Pest Surveillance Survillance des organismes nuisibles Virtual discussion on Feb. 23 | 2022 February février |
| 2 | Plant Pest Identification Systems Systèmes d’identification des organismes nuisibles Virtual discussion on April 6 | 2022 March mars |
| 3 | Inspections Inspections Virtual discussion on May 11 | 2022 April avril |
| 4 | The SPS Agreement Accord SPS Virtual discussion on June 1 | 2022 May mai |
| 5 | Pest Risk Assessment Evaluation du risque phytosanitaire Virtual discussion on June 29 | 2022 June juin |
| 6 | Pest Risk Management Gestion du risque phytosanitaire Virtual discussion on July 27 | 2022 July juillet |
| 7 | Pest Risk Analysis Analyse du risque phytosanitaire Virtual discussion on August 31 | 2022 August août |
| 8 | Pest Risk Communication Communication sur les risques phytosanitaires Virtual discussion on | 2022 September septembre |
| 9 | Phytosanitary Certification Certification phytosanitaire Virtual discussion on Nov 23 | 2022 October octobre |
| 10 | Phytosanitary Treatments for Agriculture Commodities Traitements phytosanitaires pour les produits agricoles Virtual discussion on Dec 7 | 2022 November novembre |
| 11 | Pest Free Concepts Concepts du statut exempt d’organismes nuisibles Virtual discussion on Jan 18 | 2022 December décembre |
| 12 | Market Access Process Processus d’accès au marché | 2023 January janvier |
| 13 | The IPPC and the Standard Setting Process La CIPV et au processus de normalisation | 2023 February février |
| 14 | SPS Course Review Révision du cours SPS | 2023 March mars |
Resources are available to help participants access the course.
AFSI 