How to Strengthen National Legislation to Support Electronic Phytosanitary Certification in COMESA Countries (March 2022)

Thank you for participating in this webinar!

Thursday, 24 March 2022 15:00-17:00 (CET)

Recording is available at: https://fao.zoom.us (Passcode: a=GZ*8.G)

Background:

An increasing number of countries have transitioned their phytosanitary certification system to an electronic documentation environment (ePhyto) or a hybrid environment where paper certificates and ePhyto coexist. Implementation of an electronic certification system requires the national legislation to be updated to reflect their adherence to the new electronic system and to expressly recognize the validity of ePhytos. NPPOs, national authorities, partners, and private sector stakeholders involved in import/export of plants and plant products from 21 COMESA countries, are invited to join this webinar.

The webinar will be held in English.

Target audience:

NPPOs, national authorities, and private sector stakeholders involved in import/export of plants and plant products from the 21 COMESA countries, are invited to join this webinar.

Key topics that will be covered during this session:

• How to draft NPPOs-specific regulations that will enable Electronic Phytosanitary Certification in the import and export of plants, plant products and related articles

• Essential learnings from the recently conducted study on legal aspects of ePhyto for five pilot COMESA countries: Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

• Insights into Model Regulations on Electronic Phytosanitary Certification

• An example in practice through Uganda’s successful experience in introducing Electronic Phytosanitary Certification

Panelists:

Anne-Marie Lalonde Legal Specialist, IPPC Secretariat Anne-Marie Lalonde is a legal counsel with more than 30 years of experience working for Canada’s Department of Justice, both as a legislative drafter and as a practitioner in the areas of plant protection, animal health, and animal welfare. As a government lawyer, she worked for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the NPPO of Canada, for close to 10 years and gained practical experience with plant protection and phytosanitary certification issues. She was hired by the FAO as a Legal Specialist to conduct a study on the legal aspects of ePhyto for COMESA countries.

Brenda Joyce Kisingiri Senior Agricultural Inspector, NPPO of Uganda Brenda Joyce Kisingiri is a Senior Agricultural Inspector in the Department of Crop Inspection and Certification, which is the National Plant Protection Organization of Uganda (NPPO). Brenda is a Phytosanitary Inspector responsible for export regulation and border control. She was responsible for overseeing the development and operationalization of the e-Phyto GeNS system in Uganda. She is now Co-Administrator with the Head NPPO and the Information Technologist. Brenda has participated in webinars organized by the IPPC Secretariat, the World Economic Forum, and the International Grain Council, to talk about the e-Phyto story for Uganda, and support countries seeking to implement ePhyto, such as Cote d'Ivoire, Madagascar, and Asian and Pacific countries.

Josiah M. Syanda Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service Mr. Josiah Syanda is a Chief inspector and Senior Manager at Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service. Josiah is an Agricultural Information and Communication Management and a Phytosanitary expert, with more than 20 years of experience in Phytosanitary processes and compliance. Josiah has made an immense contribution to the development of Phytosanitary systems in Kenya and the African region. Through his contribution, Kenya became a reference country for phytosanitary expertise in the region. He is currently supporting the World Economic Forum within the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation project to implement ePhyto in Cameroon and Nigeria.

Remico Kibago Information Technologist, NPPO of Uganda Remico Kibago is the Information Technologist at the Department of Crop Inspection and Certification, which is the National Plant Protection Organization of Uganda (NPPO). He provides Information technology support to NPPO staff, and to importers and exporters of agricultural produce. He also provides support to other Ministry departments. Currently, he is a co- administrator for the GeNS system for Uganda. Remico has also been a speaker at other IPPC webinars that were held to support countries such as Cote d'Ivoire and Madagascar in adopting ePhyto.

Program

The webinar will be moderated by Craig Fedchock, Manager of IPPC ePhyto Solution Project, International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat, FAO

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