The plant sector in Barbados has just become a bit more secure.
This is thanks to the donation of 50 Plant quarantine Procedures Manuals from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) this morning at the Ministry of Agriculture???s Headquarters, at Graeme Hall, Christ Church.
The manuals are designed to assist Quarantine Inspection Officers in Barbados, and outlines import and export regulations, surveillance operations, as well as a general overview of plant quarantine inspection.
In thanking the FAO for the documents, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Lennox Chandler, stated that the books would be beneficial to the Ministry and to the country, as he believed it was important to protect plant life from the various pests on the island.
???I am pleased to see this manual for Barbados. I want to commend and thank the FAO for the financial and various types of support to produce this document, and I want to implore all officers to get to know the manual. It will be very beneficial to your jobs,??? he added.
Mr. Chandler also pleaded with Barbadians to be mindful when they tried to bring plants into the island illegally, stating that pests and various viruses can enter the island in that way, creating a number of problems for the sector.
FAO Coordinator for the Caribbean Sub-region, Dr. J.R. Deep Ford, said the procedures manual would be very beneficial to the agricultural sector and food security in general.
Dr. Ford added that the manual also created an opportunity for Ministry officials and the general public to find information about plant quarantine procedures and barriers, as well as the various laws and shipping procedures, in one document.
The Plant Quarantine Procedures Manual is available in print, as an online document, or as an e-book.
aisha.reid@barbados.gov.bb