Inspectors from Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam make sure only fruits and vegetables free of quarantine pest and disease can travel between the countries.

The best way to deal with quarantine pests is to make sure they will not enter the country, said Mr. Wichar Thitiprasert, advisor to the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards (ACFS) of Thailand.

“Once the pests enter [the country], it is almost impossible to get rid of them,” he stressed.

Mr. Wichar has urged Southeast Asian nations to come up with harmonised phytosanitary regulations and procedures and use Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) as a tool to control risk from important pests that could have a negative impact on farmers’ productivity and trade across countries.

Fifteen inspectors participated in a Regional Training Workshop on Phytosanitary Inspection held at the Kasetrathikarn Institute in Bangkok from 25 – 30 March 2019 and also joined a field trip to plant quarantine checkpoints. The aim was to exchange experiences and identify challenges through peer-to-peer learning on inspection procedures and to ensure valid and credible phytosanitary certification and clearance for the export and import of consignments between countries.

“Phytosanitary inspection is important as it prevents pests and diseases from travelling across borders and protects farmers from outbreaks. These are the key roles we play in our job,” said Dr. Juadee Pongmaneerat, Secretary-General of ACFS.

The training workshop organised by the GIZ’s Facilitating Trade for Agricultural Goods in ASEAN (FTAG) project was developed for phytosanitary inspectors who are already working in this area.

The inspectors from the three countries learned about on-site inspection and operational activities related to phytosanitary measures at a plant quarantine checkpoint between Thailand and Cambodia in Chantaburi province and another between Vietnam and Cambodia.

Dr. Juadee expects the project will serve as a model for other ASEAN countries, especially on phytosanitary and other related regulations.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training workshop in Thailand on 25 March, Ms. Pouchamarn Wongsanga, Senior Regional Manager of the FTAG project, said: “This forum will serve as a platform for the discussion of practical case studies and sharing experience on practising phytosanitary inspection on the project’s specific agricultural goods such as banana, longan, mango and chili.”

FTAG, initiated in June 2017, has picked longan, banana, dragon fruit, lychee, mango and chili as potential crops to be developed through peer-to-peer learning for aligning the regulatory framework and procedures to facilitate faster border crossing of fresh agricultural goods.