NASSAU — Chairman of The Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority Mark Humes and the Department’s Officer-In-Charge Josefina Curry attended the 13th session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) last month in Italy, the Bahama Journal reported on May 7.
The meeting of the CPM, the governing body of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), reviews the state of plant protection around the world, identifies action to control the spread of pests into new areas.
During the five days of discussions, the delegation participated in a wide-range of topics on issues related to local and global plant health and plant protection issues. Topics covered at the meeting included Plant Health and Trade Facilitation, Plant Health and Environment Protection, Human and Plant Health Interaction, ePhyto certification, e-Commerce, Sea Container Cleanliness, and Cooperation between Standard Setting and Standards Implementation.
In addition, issues that have an impact on countries like The Bahamas that depend on trading large quantities of plant and plant products — like grain, fruit, vegetables or timber to sustain their economies – were also discussed.
A strategic planning meeting was held with regional and international plant health officials to discuss The Bahamas’ phytosanitary capacity development plan.
