The American Congress on Fruit Flies: 10th meeting of the Tephritid Workers from Western Hemisphere

Bogota, 2 November 2020. From 2 to 6 November 2020 the American Congress on fruit flies organized the 10th meeting of the Tephritid Workers of Western Hemisphere (TWWH), a five day virtual conference dedicated to the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) 2020. The conference brought together more than 1 500 participants, including FAO and international phytosanitary experts from various regions of the world.

Mr Emilio Arevalo-Penaranda, Technical Director of Epidemiology and Phytosanitary Surveillance at the National Plant Protection Organization of Colombia chaired the opening session of the conference with recorded welcome speeches from Mr Rodolfo Zea Navarro, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia, and Mr José Manuel Restrepo Abondano, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia. These were followed by a keynote lecture entitled “Updating the phytosanitary toolbox” by Mr Robert Griffin, National Coordinator for Agricultural Quarantine Inspection at the USDA - Agricultural Research Service.

The first session of the conference focused on area-wide Integrated Pest Management programs and control techniques. Mr Arop Deng, IPPC Integration and Support Team Lead, delivered an inception presentation of the session on the IPPC strategic framework 2020-2030 and delivery of IYPH 2020. He highlighted mission, objectives and development agenda items of the new strategic framework to be implemented by the IPPC community in the next decade. Regarding the IYPH 2020, Mr Deng outlined the activities undertaken and achievements made so far by the IPPC Secretariat to promote the year, particularly in communications and advocacy. Mr Deng reminded participants that a lot still needs to be done to keep plants healthy and protect environment, to promote the year and keep its legacy beyond 2020.