MoU signed to train quarantine officers on methy bromide fumigation
Ishara MUDUGAMUWA
Sri Lanka's Agriculture Department and Australian Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry Department signed a Memorandum of Understanding
on Co-operative Bio Security initiatives.
Participating in the MOU signing held at Hilton Hotel, Sri Lanka's
Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane said that MOU would
facilitate the training of quarantine officers of the Ministry of
Agriculture and treatment providers of the private sector, by providing
the required skills on methyl bromide fumigation to prevent the spread
of diseases and introduction of and plant products when exchange of
commodities takes place among the countries.
Addressing the occasion, Australian Deputy High Commissioner Sonya
Koppe, said that the government would continue to provide assistance to
Sri Lanka in improving bio-security issues and increasing trade in
agricultural and forestry products. She also said that flora and fauna
in the country should be protected.
Measures devised by the International Plant Protection Convention and
the Montreal protocol, would help to prevent the spread and introduction
of pests and plant products when exchange of commodities takes place
among countries. Fumigating with methyl bromide was a method of
treatment used to prevent such occurrences, she added. The international
sanitary and phytosantary measures devised by the International Plant
Protection Convention of which Sri Lanka was a signatory, would help
prevent the spread and introduction of pests and plant products when
exchange of commodities takes place among countries. One of the reatment
methods that was being utilized to prevent such occurrences was
fumigating with Methyl Bromide. Although it had been recognized as a gas
that depletes the ozone layer, provisions of the Montreal Protocol of
which Sri Lanka was also a stakeholder, would allow the use of Methyl
Bromide for quarantine and preshipment uses, subject to certain
conditions until an alternative was found.
Quarantine applications with respect to Methyl Bromide are
fumigation, by the use of Methyl Bromide as a fumigant to prevent the
introduction and establishment of quarantine pests. Preshipment
applications are those non quarantine applications applied within 21
days prior to export, to meet the official requirements of the exporting
country.
Decisions of the Montreal Protocol would facilitate the critical use
of Methyl Bromide for quarantine and preshipment uses while it has to be
conducted under the direct supervision of the official organization of
the respective country. In Sri Lanka, this responsibility was entrusted
to the quarantine officers of the Seed Certification and Plant
Protection Centre of the Agriculture Department.
The supervision and regulatory activities pertaining to Methyl
Bromide fumigation, was hampered due to the lack of trained officers. In
order to streamline the activities relating to Methyl Bromide fumigation
effectively, it is vital to establish a mechanism to centralize the
relevant activities. Therefore the Sri Lankan and Australian governments
have jointly made arrangements to fulfill the above objectives and
Cabinet approval was granted by the government of Sri Lanka to implement
the arrangement. |
