By Henry Okech
The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat has donated 40 tablets to the
Ministry of Agriculture, animal and fisheries to boost the country’s capacity to monitor pests and
develop effective strategies to prevent and control outbreak.
Pests and diseases are a major hindress to agricultural production and productivity bottleneck
in Uganda requiring adequate, well-equipped phytosanitary personnel to effectively manage
them and protect the country’s agriculture and trade.
According Dr Nankinga Caroline Mary Assistant Commissioner Phytosanitary and Quarantine in the Ministry of Agriculture animal industries and fisheries who represented the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry at the handover ceremony in Entebbe, says the tablets, with customized geospatial applications will enable staff of National plant protection organizations (NPPOs) to use advanced digital technology for pest surveillance, detection, analysis, and reporting, supporting evidence-based decision-making on the most appropriate pest outbreak prevention and response.
The tablets were donated through the IPPC’s Africa Phytosanitary Programme (APP), with
funding from the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service the IPPC Secretariat has donated at least 45 tablets to each of the pilot countries which
includes Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali,
Morocco, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Uganda.
Martin Ameru a Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) a focal officer
for Crop Protection says using reliable data, Uganda will increase agricultural Market access
through increased exports from pest free areas and enhancing with international standards for
phytosanitary.
According to experts in the agricultural sector say Plant pests pose a severe threat, causing
economic losses amounting to over USD 65.5 annually.
They emphasized the importance of initiatives such as APP in enhancing Africa’s plant health
capabilities and resilience and encouraged stronger national, regional and international
collaboration.
The IPPC is the intergovernmental treaty that aims to protect the worlds plant agriculture
products and natural resources from plant pests.
