Biosecurity officers, development partners and Ministry of Agriculture officials and IT experts are meeting in Fiji this week for training in electronic phytosanitary (ePhyto).

The training represents a crucial step forward to improve agricultural trade facilitation and safeguard regional food security. The event is funded by the Australian and New Zealand Governments through the Regional ePhyto project – and supported by the European Union through the Pacific Community (SPC) implemented Safe Agricultural Trade Facilitation through Economic Integration in the Pacific (SAFE Pacific) project.

The ePhyto certificate is the electronic equivalent of a paper phytosanitary certificate issued to indicate that export consignments of plants, plant products or other regulated articles meet specified import requirements. The certification ensures the continuity of trade despite travel and shipping limitations. It also improves trade efficiency by reducing the time and cost of sending paper certificates from country to country.

Samoa is one of the many countries that are a already operating the system to transmit phytosanitary certificates safely.

Speaking at the opening of the event, SPC Land Resources Division Director, Karen Mapusua said the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) ePhyto initiative comes at a crucial time when the SPC members are faced with different dilemmas as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"This platform will ensure that members are kept connected, that challenges are shared, advice is being sought out and that information and guidance are being provided by the entire Pacific Plant Protection Organisation," she said. 

The training taught participants about new developments in ePhyto and shared implementation experiences from different countries. Participants also checked their newly learned ePhyto skills by sending test certificates to other countries during the workshop to gain hands-on experience using the Generic ePhyto National System (GeNs) portal.

The ePhyto Solution leads to better regulation of plant exports and imports across the Pacific region and provides efficient market access opportunities at a reduced operational cost.

Pacific Plant Protection Organisation Vice Chair Nacanieli Waqa said the Phyto enables governments to share phytosanitary data well before a commodity’s arrival. 

"As a result, importing countries save time in determining compliance and can address any biosecurity or documentary issues directly with the exporting authority. This will help to pre-plan their inspections, logistics and testing,” said Mr. Waqa.

“Many Pacific countries share common hurdles such as funding, infrastructure, personnel and training. The successful implementation of GeNS in the Pacific will result in a consolidated approach by Australia and New Zealand to support the ePhyto Solution.”

Key development partners working in collaboration to implement the ePhyto Solution in the region include the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF), World Bank Group (WBG) and PACER Plus.