EAC Advances Plant Protection

EAC SECTORAL COUNCIL APPROVES A MUTUAL RECOGNITION MECHANISM FOR REGISTRATION OF PESTICIDES AND A GUIDELINE FOR REGISTRATION OF PEST CONTROL PRODUCTS FOR PLANT PEST EMERGENCY RESPONSE “The guidelines adopted by SCAFS will facilitate accelerated access to crop protection products that can control emerging and re-emerging transboundary crop pests.“ The East African Community (EAC) took a majorContinue reading “EAC Advances Plant Protection”

2023 NPPO Online Training

This May 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and East African Community (EAC) invites members of the National Plant Protection Organizations in the regions to the relaunch of the Plant Health Online Modules. Plant health is crucial for advancingContinue reading “2023 NPPO Online Training”

Food Safety: Senegal and Nigeria

The AFSI project on Strengthening Food Safety Systems in Africa is focusing its efforts on industries in Senegal and Nigeria. The project activities will provide technical assistance to support industry to meet these food safety measures, the promotion of regulatory harmonization, and the development of academic resources to meet current and future needs for technicalContinue reading “Food Safety: Senegal and Nigeria”

Plant Health – Online Training

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 http://www.SPSCourses.com by the Food Safety Network, a part of the USDAContinue reading “Plant Health – Online Training”

Improving SPS Systems in Africa for Food Security and Trade

Africa faces considerable challenges related to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) systems, including lack of coordination and harmonization between countries and regions, weak regulatory systems, and limited capacities to invest in SPS systems and implement actions to improve food safety and plant and animal health. These challenges impact health and wellbeing, with Africans suffering from highContinue reading “Improving SPS Systems in Africa for Food Security and Trade”

East Africa SOPs for Border Inspection

In June 2021, the EAC approved a shared Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for inspecting maize, beans and rice for pests of phytosanitary importance. The Inspection SOP document highlights the importance of these efforts: “The East African Community (EAC) is an economic block that creates demand for trade in a wide range of commodities among theContinue reading “East Africa SOPs for Border Inspection”

Food Safety in Africa (2021-2023)

Project on Strengthening Food Safety Systems in West Africa  This project aims to strengthen food safety systems by growing food safety capacity and harmonization of measures across countries and regions. The project will engage the Africa Union, the RECs, member states and agribusiness to improve understanding of and application of science-based sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)Continue reading “Food Safety in Africa (2021-2023)”

Animal Health Capacity Program: Africa (2021-2023)

 The African Union’s Animal Health Strategy for Africa (AHSA) and SPS Policy Framework provides mechanisms to build sustainable animal health systems aligned with international standards to facilitate safe trade in animal products. As the strategy continues to be implemented, the University of Missouri, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and UMAP-Ghana are lending support to African Union, theContinue reading “Animal Health Capacity Program: Africa (2021-2023)”

Risk Communication Trainings

Missouri School of Journalism helping communities in Africa talk about pesticides, avoid fake news. From Journalism.Missouri.edu By Austin Fitzgerald Columbia, Mo. (Aug. 30, 2021) — Researchers at the Missouri School of Journalism are helping people in Africa improve communication about pesticides in their countries, the latest effort from the School to improve how science is communicatedContinue reading “Risk Communication Trainings”