CAHFSA recognised as 10th Regional Plant Protection Organisation

The Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) was recognised as a Regional Plant Protection Organisation (RPPO) by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-13) being held this week at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Headquarters in Rome. The IPPC Community attending the CPM congratulated and wished the newly recognised organisation a fruitful work.

Ms. Juliet Goldsmith, CAHFSA Plant Health Expert, thanked all individuals who were instrumental in this recognition. She acknowledged the member countries of CAHFSA and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as well as its associate members and territories; the Caribbean Plant Health Directors’ Forum (CPHD); partner countries of the Caribbean Basin, in particular the USA;, and organisations such as IICA and OIRSA (the RPPO for Central America); who worked together for the best interest of plant health in the region in the absence of a formal RPPO in the Caribbean. She invited Contracting Parties, RPPOs and partner agencies to continue to cooperate and support CAHFSA to help it to grow into a mature and functional RPPO.

CAHFSA was an observer to the Technical Consultation of Regional Plant Protection Organisations (TC-RPPO) for the last two years. During the 29th TC-RPPO held last November in Paris, CAHFSA asked the IPPC Secretariat to initiate the procedure required for their recognition as a RPPO, under Article IX of the IPPC.

CAHFSA/CARICOM is composed of the following Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and of the following Associate Members: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands.