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A SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION TO THE 43rd NAPPO ANNUAL MEETING

The 43rd NAPPO Annual Meeting successfully concluded on November 1st, 2019. One hundred and thirty-one participants from governments, industry and non-government organizations attended the meeting. The meeting featured seven knowledge topics and a symposium entitled “Evaluation of next steps for an exotic pest once its presence has been confirmed in a NAPPO member country”. Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Bill Anderson - Executive Director, Plant Health and Biosecurity Directorate, Policy and Programs Branch, CFIA, Mr. Jacques Beaupré from the Québec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ in French) and Stephanie Bloem, NAPPO ED.

The NAPPO Secretariat wants to take this opportunity to thank the 28 industry partners from Canada, the United States and Mexico that attended the meetings including Bayer Crop Science, Canada Wood, Canadian Horticultural Council, Canadian Lumber Standards Accreditation Board (CLSAB), Canadian Nursery and Landscape Association, Canadian National Potato Council, Canadian Seed Growers Association, Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA), Canadian Wood Pallet and Container Association, Conseil de L’industrie Forestière du Québec, Flowers Canada Growers, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, Prince Edward Island Potato Board, American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC), American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), AmericanHort, Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers Association, Brambles, California Citrus Quality Council, Consolidated Central Valley Table Grape Pest and Disease Control District, Corteva Agriscience, HM Clause, National Wooden Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA), Asociación de Proveedores de Productores Agropecuarios de México, Asociación Mexicana de Semilleros (AMSAC), Citrison S.A de C.V. and the Unión Agrícola Regional de Fruticultores del Estado de Chihuahua.

knowledge topics included the new NAFTA, World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement in the sanitary phytosanitary area (SPS), updates from the IPPC standards (SC) and implementation and capacity development committees (IC), outcomes from the 2018 combined Entomological Society of America (ESA), Entomological Society of Canada (ESC) and the Entomological Society of British Columbia (ESBC) meetings, a live ePhyto demonstration, government and industry interactions facing the impact of the Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV), an emerging pest, and updates on the North American Sea Container Initiative (NASCI).

During the symposium, experts from each NAPPO member country provided information on the approaches, responses and communication strategies when an exotic pest is detected in their country. Discussion panels provided opportunities for participants to ask questions. The NAPPO Forestry Expert Group organized a face-to-face meeting on the margins of the Annual Meeting to advance their work on the Science and Technology document on Contaminant Pests.

Dr. Eric Allen (Research Manager, Natural Resources Canada) was recognized by NAPPO for his lifetime contributions to the phytosanitary community around the world, including his work on several regional and international standards. Furthermore, the “ISPM 38 – International movement of seeds” Expert Group (Patricia McAllister, Loretta Moysey, and Avtar Virk (CFIA); Ed Podleckis and Nancy Osterbauer (APHIS PPQ); José Ulises García Romero (SENASICA); Claudio Feulner (CSTA), Rick Dunkle (ASTA), Mario Puente and Marlene Ortíz Berrocal (AMSAC) were recognized for their work in organizing and delivering the ISPM 38 implementation workshop in San José, Costa Rica in March 2019. Sarah Brearey (CFIA), Chairperson of the “RSPM 35 – Guidelines for the movement of stone and pome fruit trees and grapevines into a NAPPO member country” EG was also recognized for her outstanding leadership in this EG.

The NAPPO Secretariat thanks Mirko Montuori (IPPC Secretariat) for providing updates on the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH), Damian Rowe (Senior Plant Quarantine Officer, Ministry of Industry Commerce Agriculture and Fisheries, Jamaica) for his participation in the ePhyto demonstration and all those who in any way contributed to the success of this event.