Towards harmonising the registration and management of plant protection products in Africa
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Abstract
In many countries in Africa and elsewhere, the available toolkit for managing pest problems does not always match farmers’ needs. For some crop-pest combinations, there may be few or no plant protection products registered, or those that are registered may be older, containing more hazardous molecules. Meanwhile, in low-income countries, low-quality pesticides sold on the market can also pose challenges to efficacy. This calls for review of the regulatory frameworks for the registration of pesticides and the management of plant protection products. Additionally, there is strong need to harmonize existing registration and management approaches for these products. The continental harmonization of guidelines for the registration and management of plant protection products could be a powerful tool for addressing some challenges, as the aligning processes are involved with the best practices. This paper highlights that regional harmonisation initiatives led by the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa have succeeded. However, not all countries have benefited from the REC initiatives. Likewise, while several RECs are working towards harmonizing registration and management of plant protection products, the extent and form of this harmonization does vary. Consequently, developing continental-level guidelines for registering and managing plant protection products could scale up the successes achieved. A continental-level mechanism needs to be established, building on successes of other existing pesticide registration initiatives on the harmonization of registration of pesticides at national and REC levels, consistent with international standards, and based on WTO agreements. This would align with ongoing initiatives to support continental policies on agriculture and trade.
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