2454 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

Evaluation of the Community Plant Health Regime: Final Report
DG SANCO Evaluation Framework Contract Lot 3 (Food Chain)
Several arguments are put forward to explain why the CPHR has not been effective in
controlling and eradicating exotic plant pests:
Lack of incentives to notify, both at the level of producers (for economic reasons) and
MS CAs (for economic and political reasons);
Delays in defining and implementing measures;
Lack of resources and capacities to 1) implement optimal surveillance plans and to 2)
conduct PRAs;
Lack of sharing eradication expertise between MS as built up during national control
and eradication campaigns.
On the other hand, the critical success factors in the case of control measures in potatoes (in
particular for bacterial ring rot and brown rot) 159 can be summarised as follows:
The adoption and implementation of very strict measures swiftly after the outbreak,
with strict provisions in the infested fields and refined methods for analysis procedures,
and movement restrictions (these apply for 4 years);
The application of common procedures through Control Directives including detailed
obligations with very little freedom for interpretation;
The fact that this is a commercial crop and therefore producers/growers and industry are
concerned and economically motivated to act; and,
The fact that the potato sector is of high commercial/trade value and is highly
integrated.
A fuller discussion of successes and failures of the CPHR, and their critical factors in this regard,
is made in section 3.11.1.
Early prevention is considered to remain the most cost- efficient and effective approach for plant
health management and several options are presented in this regard to improve the system:
Emergency measures to be adopted and adapted more rapidly, based on the evaluation of
pest situation and evolution through initially fast-track PRAs that should be further
developed step by step;
Strengthen emergency approach for outbreak measures. This could start with creation of
emergency team within SANCO to develop a coordinated approach and action plan for
dealing with emergency situations. This is currently practised in animal health and includes
support from a network of experts from MS and third countries.
The analysis of these options for the future is presented in section 5.4.
159 The effectiveness of the Control Directives is more questionable in the case of the other potato diseases, i.e. wart
disease and in particular for potato cyst nematodes.
Food Chain Evaluation Consortium 150