SOO Annex J_SPS Embedded Advisor for PPRSD.pdf

20-03-19

FINAL REPORT

USAID SPS EMBEDDED

ADVISORS FOR PPRSD

AT THE

KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL

AIRPORT

CONSULTANTS:

Ken Okwae FENING University of Missouri-Supported PPRSD Embedded Staff

Maxwell Kelvin BILLAH University of Missouri-Supported PPRSD Embedded Staff

OFFICE LOCATION: Kotoka International Airport (KIA), Accra, Ghana

CONSULTANCY PERIOD:

14TH AUGUST 2017 TO 15TH JANUARY 2019

Dr. Ken Okwae Fening

Dr Maxwell Kelvin Billah

Table of Content

Summary

Introduction

Background:

Details of project activities from 14th August 2017 to 15th January 2019 ... 8

Achievements

Key Achievements

Interception Notifications

Continued Gaps within the System

Remaining Capacity Needs of Major Stakeholders

Conclusions and the Way Forward

Acknowledgments

References

List of Figures and Tables

List of Tables

Table 1a. Trainings undertaken by PPRSD Embedded SPS Advisors to relevant stakeholders from 14th August 2017 to 31st December 2017

Table 1b. Trainings undertaken by PPRSD Embedded SPS Advisors to relevant stakeholders from 1st January 2018 to 15th January 2019

List of Figures

Figure 1. Monthly interception notifications of harmful organisms for Ghana from EU

EUROPHYT for 2014, 2015 and 2018

Figure 2. Monthly interception notifications for reasons other than the presence of harmful organisms for Ghana from EU EUROPHYT, 2014, 2015 and 2018

Figure 3. Monthly records of local rejections (in red) compared with the number of international interceptions recorded for Ghana from EU EUROPHYT, 2018. (*Local rejection data only available for Jan-Nov, 2018. No December data)

Summary

Ghana’s vegetable export experienced several interceptions from 2012 to 2015, largely due to the presence of harmful organisms, specifically quarantine pests (mostly thrips, whiteflies, fruit flies and false codling moth) in consignments destined for export to the European Union.

Therefore, Ghana was placed under a ban for some vegetables, mainly Capsicum sp. (chili pepper), Solanum spp. (eggplant and aubergine), and the gourds (luffa, bitter and bottle gourds, Luffa, Momordica, Lagenaria, respectively) from October 2015 until December

2016, which was further extended to December 2017. The USAID/UMAP-Supported

Embedded Advisors of PPRSD were engaged from 14th August 2017 to 15th January 2019 to continue to build the capacity of Phytosanitary Inspectors (PIs) of PPRSD, exporters and their out-growers to ensure that the produce exported from Ghana to the international market is free from quarantine pests. The Embedded Advisors of PPRSD executed their mandate under the following thematic areas; to improve the competence of Phytosanitary Inspectors (PIs) through theoretical and hands-on or practical trainings, training of exporters and their out-growers, supporting Ghana’s NPPO to meet the requirements of new and emerging

Implementing Directives from the EU. Participation of Embedded Staff in relevant stakeholder meetings and monitoring on interception notifications from the EU, as well as instituting interventions or corrective measures. The Embedded Advisors organized several training workshops, and hands-on trainings, based on needs assessment for the PIs, Agriculture Extension Agents (AEAs), Exporters and their out-growers and other key stakeholders. The Embedded Staff also undertook several visits to the fields of production and pack houses of the exporters and their out-growers. Observations from the field clearly indicated that most exporters and their out-growers did not strictly adhere to the roadmap for pest reduction. Among the gaps identified in the field included poor farm sanitation, poor layout and fixing of traps, poor trap servicing and poor pesticide application. This ultimately resulted in high local interceptions of high risk commodities for export, and occasionally interception notifications from the EU. Among the key SPS documents the Embedded Staff supported the NPPO to undertake, are Ghana’s NPPO’s Roadmap to control the False

Codling Moth (FCM), Ghana’s NPPO Guidelines to extend official export certification controls beyond the point of exit to include the fields of production and pack houses for vegetable exporters’and meeting the requirements on the new Implementing Directives to control the Fall Armyworm (FAW). The Embedded Staff also supported the revision of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the NPPO and Revision of Ghana’s Pest list.

The Embedded Advisors also participated in several stakeholder engagements, key among them, is the participation in the Ministerial Export Taskforce meetings, whose mandate was to put measures in place to ensure the ban on selected vegetables to the EU is reversed within the earliest possible time (and this vision became actualised within the stipulated time). We can clearly state that the engagement of the Embedded Staff largely contributed to the lifting of the EU ban after its expiration on 31st December 2017. Despite the successes, there still remain some challenges in the field whereby the exporters and their out-growers are not strictly implementing the pest control protocols. Although, the level of interception notifications from EU has reduced drastically in the year 2018, when the export of the banned commodities resumed (compared to the numbers in 2014 and 2015), there are still high levels of local interceptions due to the presence of these quarantine pests in the high risk commodities. Despite, the addition of ten newly-recruited PIs for PPRSD, there is still a gap, as more PIs are needed to help in conducting effective inspections during busy days for export and to support the monitoring of the exporters and their out-grower farms and pack houses. There must be a conscious effort by Ghana’s NPPO, all stakeholders and

Development partners to keep supporting the building of the capacity of the exporters and their out-growers to control pests in the field, and if possible to eliminate pest completely in the pack house. The PIs of PPRSD who visit the farmer fields also need further training to be more abreast in enforcing strictly the guidelines outlined in the roadmap for pests’ reduction.

There is the need for a total change of mind set as the presence of one pest of quarantine importance in a commodity will still lead to its interception and destruction. Thus, the struggle to attain zero interception and a more sustainable SPS system in Ghana still continues, despite the appreciable progress made.

Introduction

Background:

Ghana’s vegetable exports experienced several interceptions from 2012 to 2015, largely due to the presence of harmful organisms, specifically quarantine pests (thrips, whiteflies, fruit flies and false codling moth) in the consignments destined for export to the European Union

(EUROPHYT 2012-2015). Therefore, Ghana was placed under a ban by the EU for some vegetables, mainly Capsicum sp. (chili pepper), Solanum spp. (eggplant and aubergine), and the gourds (luffa, bitter and bottle gourds, Luffa, Momordica, Lagenaria, respectively) from

October 2015 until December 2016, which was further extended to December 2017. The

USAID/UMAP-Supported Embedded Advisors of PPRSD were engaged from 14th August

2017 to 15th January 2019 to continue to build the capacity of Phytosanitary Inspectors (PIs) of PPRSD, exporters and their out-growers to ensure that the produce exported from Ghana to the international market is free from quarantine pests.

The Embedded Advisors of PPRSD have executed our mandate under the following thematic areas; to improve the competence of Phytosanitary Inspectors (PIs) through theoretical and hands-on or practical trainings, training of exporters and their out-growers, supporting

Ghana’s NPPO to meet the requirements of new and emerging Implementing Directives from the EU. Embedded Staff also participated in relevant stakeholder meetings and monitoring on interception notifications from the EU, and instituting interventions or corrective measures.

The Embedded Advisors organized several training workshops, and hands-on trainings, based on needs assessment for the PIs, Agriculture Extension Agents (AEAs), Exporters and their out-growers and other key stakeholders (Monthly reports to UM). The Embedded Staff also undertook several visits to the fields of production and pack houses of the exporters and their out-growers. Observations from the field clearly indicated that most exporters and their out-growers do not strictly adhere to the roadmap for pest reduction. Among the gaps identified in the field includes poor farm sanitation, poor layout and fixing of traps, poor trap servicing and poor pesticide application. This ultimately resulted in high local interception of high risk commodities for export and occasionally interception notifications from EU. Among the key

SPS documents the Embedded Staff supported the NPPO to undertake, are the NPPO’s roadmap to control the False Codling Moth (FCM) (Fening and Billah 2017b), Ghana’s

NPPO guidelines to extend official export certification controls beyond the point of exit to include the fields of production and pack houses for vegetable exporters (Fening and Billah

2017a) and meeting the requirements on the new Implementing Directives to control the Fall

Armyworm (FAW). The Embedded Staff also supported the revision of the Standard

Operating Procedures (SOP) for the NPPO and Revision of Ghana’s Pest list. The Embedded

Advisors also participated in several stakeholder engagements, key among them was participation in the Ministerial Export Taskforce meetings whose mandate was to put measures in place to ensure the ban on selected vegetables to the EU was reversed within the earliest possible time (and this vision became actualised within the stipulated time). We can clearly state that the engagement of the Embedded Staff largely contributed to the lifting of the EU ban after its expiration on 31st December 2017.

Despite the successes, there still remain some challenges in the field whereby the exporters and their out-growers are not strictly implementing the pest control protocols. Although, the level of interception notifications from EU has reduced drastically in the year 2018, when the export of the banned commodities resumed compared to the numbers in 2014 and 2015, there are still high levels of local interceptions due to the presence of these quarantine pests in the high risk commodities. Despite, the addition of ten newly-recruited PIs for PPRSD, there is still a gap, as more PIs are needed to help in conducting effective inspections during busy days for export and to support the monitoring of the exporters and their out-grower farms and pack houses. We believe effective monitoring and management at the farm and pack house levels will dramatically cut down on the numbers that eventually get to the points of exit.

There must be a conscious effort by Ghana’s NPPO, all stakeholders and Development partners to keep supporting the building of the capacity of the exporters and their out-growers to control pests in the field and if possible, to eliminate pests completely in the pack house.

The objective of this final report is to summarise the activities and achievement during the period of our engagement as PPRSD-Embedded Advisors, remaining capacity needs, continued gaps within the system and to propose some interventions on the way forward.

Details of project activities from 14th August 2017 to 15th January 2019

The activities undertaken during engagement period was captured under the sub-themes;

improving the competence of recruited Phytosanitary Inspectors through trainings, training of exporters and their out-growers, participation in relevant stakeholder meetings and updates on interception notifications from the EU and conclusions. Tables 1 and 2 summarise some of these trainings and the thematic areas covered and the target groups.

Table 1a. Trainings undertaken by PPRSD Embedded SPS Advisors to relevant stakeholders from 14th August 2017 to 31st December 2017.

Months

Phytosanitary

Inspectors

(PIs) of PPRSD

MoFA

Extension Staff

(AEAs)

Exporters

Producers, out-growers and farmers

Thematic area(s) for the trainings

August

PIs- Theoretical and practical trainings on the effective use of inspection equipment or tools for diagnostic purposes, quarantine pests detection and identification, how to sample effectively from a consignment, insect collections, definitions and terminologies used in

ISPMS

September

10 6 30

PIs- How to sample representatively using the right sampling methods from a consignment, conduct a thorough inspection, taking into consideration the hideouts of the pests, their detection, collection for identification, decision making on a consignment, either to accept or reject, etc., among others

Exporters – Practical training in the field to ensure that the produce were effectively harvested, sorted and graded, treatments protocols in the pack houses employed to ensure produce was free from pest and of the best quality, before they are packaged to the point of exit

October

3 5 15 50

We organized a field and knowledge sharing day at Joekopan farms Ltd and Vegpro Ghana

Ltd at Torgorme. This informal gathering brought together over 80 participants made up of farmers and farmers based organizations, exporters, PPRSD staff, MoFA Directors, MoFA

District Officers, MoFA Supervisors and Agriculture Extension Agents (AEAs), PPRSD field personnel, and other stakeholders, GhanaVeg and CABI

November

This visit enabled us to interact with exporters on their production and post-harvest handling practices to control pests (especially mealybugs). This was necessary because we detected high infestation of mealybugs in their pineapple consignment we inspected at the airport. During the visit, we recommended to them effective ways of significantly reducing the infestation of mealybugs in the field and also in the packhouse. We gave them hands-on training about the hidden places on the pineapple where the mealybugs can hide and recommended to them to acquire at least one visor for the quality control manager to inspect pineapples after the final cleaning is completed, to ensure all mealybugs (including the crawlers) are removed.

5 30

Visited Exporter’s out-growers farms at Begoro for monitoring and training on the management of quarantine pests (fruit flies, FCM, thrips and whiteflies) on eggplant and chilies.

1 5

We undertook training at Bowkrom on how to effectively control the pests on turia and the okra, and the measures proposed involved adopting high level of farm sanitation, use of approved pesticides in a rotation, and mass trapping (using sticky traps and lures) for fruit flies, thrips and whiteflies

December

AEAs- Facilitated in the training of Plant Doctors, in Plant Pests and Diseases Diagnosis and making appropriate recommendations to farmers. These trainees, who are Agricultural

Officers, known as Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) were selected from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Extension Division.

Exporter & out-growers- Training the implementation of the roadmap for pests’ reduction in the field

Exporters- Golden Riverside farms and Jei River pineapple farms- Training on the use of visors, especially by their Quality Control Officer for effective detection of mealybugs in pineapple fruits, the use of an air compressor to blow off mealybugs from fruits and the application of effective treatments at the field level

TOTAL 55 PIs 45 AEAs

Exporters

130 out-growers

Table 1b. Trainings undertaken by PPRSD Embedded SPS Advisors to relevant stakeholders from 1st January 2018 to 15th January 2019.

Months

Phytosanitary

Inspectors (PIs) of PPRSD

MoFA

Extension Staff

(AEAs)

Exporters Producers, out-growers and farmers Thematic area(s) for the trainings

January

*Please refer to attendance sheet

Conducted a one day training of exporters, their out-growers and PPRSD field staff at Pokuase on effective use of traps (pheromone traps, blue and yellow sticky traps) for pest monitoring and mass-trapping in the field. There were demonstrations on how to set up the FCM delta trap with lure for the false codling moth, blue sticky trap with lure for thrips and yellow sticky traps with lure for whiteflies, fruit flies and other pests, as well as traps for catching different species of fruit flies using the appropriate species specific lures.

February

March

30 30 20

The embedded Advisors facilitated the Pest identification workshop for 30 participants with Joel

Floyd as the lead trainer. The workshop was administrated by Jenny Cho of USDA-FAS with the support of Nana Koranteng and her team from UMAP Office, Ghana. All the 30 participants participated fully in the theoretical and practical aspects of pest identification, with emphasis of insect pests of quarantine importance

Exporters – Training and discussions with members of Ghana Assorted Foodstuff Exporters

Association (GAFEA) at their pack house at new Achimota (Mile Seven). We discussed the SPS challenges faced by members of the association who export various food items.

April 2018

We visited the chili field of an out-grower of an exporter, Joekopan Enterprise Ltd to monitor his compliance to the use of the approved protocols and offer them hands-on training on how to identify the false codling moth (FCM) from other insects caught in the FCM lure trap. They were also trained in handling blue and yellow sticky traps, targeting thrips and whiteflies, respectively

We visited the chili out-growers at Begoro to train them on the approved protocols for chili production, including the setting up of the various traps for the False codling moth (FCM), thrips, whiteflies and fruit flies in the field for monitoring and also as population suppression tool (mass trapping of insect pests). This visit offered us the opportunity to meet with the chili out-growers at Begoro (both trained and non-trained) to offer them hands-on training in the field. Begoro belongs to the Forest ecological zone of Ghana and is a hub for the production of quality chilies for export, despite the fact that it is a hot spot (high pest pressure) for most of the target quarantine pests such as fruit flies and FCM. At the moment three big exporters, Joekopan

Enterprise, Shrigan Farms and AB Farms have out-growers from the area. Other exporters, Suraj farms and Dhillon farms are also sourcing for out-growers from Begoro.

May 2018 * *

Visited exporters’ farms- babycorn, chilies, eggplant farms on how to use the Delta trap with

FAW lure for monitoring FAW population in the field. This was in response to the new EU

Directive (Implementing Decision) on the Fall Armyworm (FAW-SANTE 10079/2018) which took effect from 1st June 2018 to ensure the affected commodities (chilies, eggplant, aubergines, bitter gourd and corn) are free from FAW to guarantee their export to the EU region

June 2018 * *

The Embedded Staff together with the OIC at the airport visited several out-grower farms of

Dhillon farms and AB farms to train them on the roadmap for pest reduction-aspects like trap servicing, farm sanitation and pesticide application

July 2018 Visited Joekopan Enterprise out-grower farms and AT Mahli farms to train them on the roadmap for pest reduction-aspects like trap servicing, farm sanitation and pesticide application, August

Visited Param farms and Trosky farms to train them on the roadmap for pest reduction-aspects like trap servicing, farm sanitation and pesticide application, September

The Embedded team conducted Plant Quarantine training for Phytosanitary Inspectors at the

Forest Hotel at Dodowa. Among the topics treated included review of the Standard Operating

Procedures (SOPs), The Plant and Fertilizer act of Ghana, phytosanitary inspection procedures, methodologies for sampling (ISPM 31), additional declarations, use of inspection tools

(microscopes, visors, hand lenses, inspection kit) for detection and identification of insect pests of quarantine importance.

Stakeholders forum with the Exporters and their out-growers at EPA Conference Room at

Amasaman. Embedded team made a presentation on the situation in the field of production, in terms of non-adherence to production protocols and phytosanitary inspection challenges at KIA

The Embedded team supported the USAID/USDA/APHIS team to conduct a passenger inspection training workshop for Phytosanitary Inspectors selected across the border posts in the country. This meeting was facilitated by UMAP, Ghana Office. There was also a roundtable discussion on passenger baggage inspection with PPRSD, US team, Embedded Staff and Heads of the other sister agencies working at the airport.

October

The Embedded team conducted a similar Plant Quarantine training for Phytosanitary Inspectors at the GILLBT Guest House in Tamale. This training was attended by Phytosanitary Inspectors from the Northern Sector of Ghana

The Embedded Staff participated in Trade Africa Learning Event at the Movenpick Ambassador

Hotel in Accra. The theme for the program was ‘Enhancing Ghana’s Trade Competitiveness:

Lessons from the Trade Africa Partnership’. We made a presentation on the major activities and significant achievements during our engagement with the Plant Protection and Regulatory

Services Directorate of Ghana. We also participated in a panel discussion on the theme ‘Public

Private Collaboration to Enhance Trade.

November

The embedded Staff worked on a poster for the management of the eggplant fruit and shoot borer

(EFSB), Leucinodes orbonalis as a study guide to the exporters, farmers and Phytosanitary

Inspectors of PPRSD to help them identify the deferent stages of the of EFSB and its management, involving prevention, monitoring and acting (control).

Fifteen (15) staff of Joekopan Enterprise were trained by the Embedded Staff in the execution of the field protocols for the various critical commodities (gourds, eggplant and chilies), postharvest handling (sorting, grading, postharvest treatment) and inspection of commodities (visual and dissection, aided by wearing head visors mounted with magnifying lens) to ensure commodities are free from pests of quarantine importance. Among the categories of staff trained from

Joekopan included the Managing Director, Agronomist, Farm Manager, Packhouse Manager, Assistant Packhouse Manager, Farmers/Out-growers and Sorters.

December

10 * *

We organized a Plant Quarantine Training for the newly recruited PIs of the Plant Protection and

Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD). Among the topics treated included protocols and roadmap for pests reduction, identification of pests of quarantine importance, sampling methodology, use of inspection tools (e.g. microscopes, visors, hand lens, knifes, flash lights, etc.), conducting phytosanitary inspection, documentation, including writing of phytosanitary certificate and additional declarations, among others

We also organized a workshop for exporters and their out-growers or producers on the detection, identification and management of the pests of quarantine importance (thrips, whiteflies, fruit flies, false codling moth, eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB) and Fall armyworm) normally intercepted in exported commodities to the European Union (EU). Special emphasis was made on the EFSB, Leucinodes orbonalis, which was recently intercepted in eggplant exported from

Ghana into the UK

January

1 50

Embedded Staff together with PPRSD organised a training workshop for over 50 out-growers of

Shrighan farms at Begoro. Among the key export commodities grown at Begoro includes chilies and eggplant. We took farmers through the protocols for managing the insect pests of quarantine importance to ensure produce is pest free. Copies of the posters developed so far for the quick identification and management of the six key pests of quarantine importance (thrips, whiteflies, fruit flies, false codling moth, fall armyworm and the eggplant fruit and shoot borer) were distributed to all the farmers. Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and dealers of agrochemicals participated in the workshop.

TOTAL

* Refer to participants list submitted to University of Missouri for the exact numbers of persons trained with their details.

Achievements

The Embedded Staff have offered both theoretical and practical (hands-on) training to the Phytosanitary Inspectors (PIs) of PPRSD of MoFA in the area of effective sampling of commodities for inspection, pest detection and identification, procedures in conducting inspection of various commodities (both low and high risks), the correct use of inspection equipment and tools (hand lens, visors, microscopes, writing of proper documentation (Phytosanitary certificate and additional declarations) to support the export of approved consignments.

Embedded Advisors also trained PIs on how to conduct effective monitoring of exporters and their out-grower farms and pack-houses to ensure pest free commodities of high quality are produced

The Embedded Staff have trained over 50 exporters of vegetables and fruits, and over

600 out-growers, and over 50 AEAs through field days, field visits to exporters’ out-grower farms, pack houses and trainings at PPRSD headquarters, Pokuase and other locations (KIA)

The Embedded Staff have developed pictorial pest management guides (posters) for the quick identification ( for the different development stages of pest) and management

(prevent, monitor and act) of the six key pests of quarantine importance (thrips, whiteflies, fruit flies, false codling moth, fall armyworm and the eggplant fruit and shoot borer) as reference material for Phytosanitary Inspectors, Exporters, their Out-growers, Farmers, Farmer-Based Organizations, Agricultural Extension Agents and other stakeholders in the vegetable export sub-sector

Within the period, USAID has supported PPRSD PIs at KIA with ultra-modern inspection cabins or facilities for inspection, microscopes, visors and an inspection kit for each of the Phytosanitary Inspectors

The Embedded Advisors has been offering hands –on training at KIA since 14th August

2017 to 15th January 2019 and were still mentoring the PIs when the EU audit team visited KIA in September 2017

Key achievements

The technical backstopping by the Embedded Advisors to PPRSD Phytosanitary

Inspectors (PIs) has largely contributed to the lifting of the ban on vegetables by the EU.

In the words of the EU Audit team, ‘The audit found that the National Plant Protection

Organization (NPPO) has strengthened the export certification system in Ghana significantly during the past 12 months. Most recommendations of the previous audit have been addressed. Export checks are carried out by technically competent staff in appropriate facilities and can be considered to be reliable. Capacity for export checks has been enhanced in anticipation of increased trade volumes.’

The Embedded Advisors were keenly involved in the development of the NPPO’s roadmap to meet the new EU requirements to control the False codling moth (FCM) and the Fall Armyworm worm (FAW), among others on chillies and eggplant, thus we can now export these commodities

Even though, our aim is to attain a zero tolerance for pests and interceptions notification from the EU, the level of interceptions now from the EU has significantly reduced as compared to the escalating levels in 2014 and 2015.

Interception Notifications

Interception notifications due to the presence of harmful organisms from the EU for January to December 2018, after the expiration of the ban, has been generally low as compared to the years 2014 and 2015 which led to the ban (Figure 1). Among the key pests commonly intercepted in 2018 were thrips, whiteflies, fruit flies, false codling moth (FCM) and eggplant fruit and shoot borer. However, the interception of FCM for Ghana has drastically reduced from 70 for 2014, 66 for 2015 and 12 for 2018 (EUROPHYT 2014, 2015 and 2018). Kenya and Uganda each had 53 interception notifications due FCM for 2018 (EUROPHYT 2018).

However, Ghana still needs to improve its performance until it records zero interception for

FCM as indicated in Ghana’s roadmap to the EU to control the FCM (Fening and Billah

2017a, b).

Exporters and their out-growers should following strictly the management interventions for the FCM in chilies. Among the interventions include farm sanitation (destruction of dropped fruits), use of bio-pesticides (neem, maltodextrin, Bt) and novel pesticides (e.g. Emamectin benzoate), and mass trapping using FCM lure in a Delta trap. The earlier recommendation of

5 traps per hectare could be increased to 15 traps per hectare to enhance its use as a population suppression tool. This must be done as part of an integrated control measure, especially in areas with high pest (FCM) pressure such as Begoro in the forest agro-ecological zone of Ghana.

By way of comparison on the dynamics of interception notifications for the year 2018 due to

HOs and reasons other than the presence of harmful organism, Ghana received a total of 84 interception notifications, out of which 42 were due to HOs, and 42 due to reasons other than the presence of HOs. Within the same period, Nigeria had a total of 153 notifications, out of which 85 was due to HOs and 68 due to reasons other than the presence of harmful organisms. Kenya had a total of 204 notifications, out of which 89 was due to HOs and 115 due to reasons other than the presence of HOs. Uganda received a total of 148 notifications, out of which 89 is due to HOs and 59 due to reasons other than the presence of harmful organisms. South Africa had a total of 95 notifications, out of which 42 is due to HOs and 53 due to reasons other than the presence of harmful organism.

Thus, Ghana appears to be having a much lower interception notifications from the EU, compared to other African-Caribbean- Pacific (ACP) countries, but there is much room for improvement and to sustain the gains made. The engagement of the Embedded Advisors working directly with PPRSD officers and other stakeholders may have contributed to this success which needs to be maintained, now that the contracts of the Embedded Advisors have ended. However, there was a high level of local interceptions (Figure 3) at the airport (KIA), suggesting that exporters and their out-growers still have challenges in producing pest-free commodities. This situation has been worsened by the fact that after lifting of the ban, most produce originated directly for the fields of the exporters and their out-growers. These fields were strictly monitored during the production period by the Embedded Advisors and the

NPPO. However after the first cropping season (3-4 months after lifting of the ban, exporters started to source produce not only from their registered out-growers, but tend to buy from other uncertified farms, which may not have followed the protocols for pest control. This normally occurs when there is high demand for more produce. As could be observed from

Figure 1, when exporters were sourcing from their own trained out-growers, the level of interceptions remained much lower from January to June, until it increased abruptly in July to

October where they were sourcing from diverse sources due to high demand for the critical commodities (eggplant, chilies and gourds). Consequently, there was a intensification in the level of scrutiny and inspection, which ultimately led to the very high number local rejections between the months of June and October, 2018 (Figure 3).

It appears the PIs also get overwhelmed with too much work, when large volumes of consignments are to be sampled and inspected. There is always the tendency to pick lower number of samples that may not be representative enough. This could result in missing some key pests of quarantine importance during sampling and inspections. Thus, the need to recruit more PIs to support during these peak periods, where a lot of sampling and inspections are done.

The years 2014 and 2015 recorded the highest number of interceptions, leading to the EU ban in October 2015. The year 2018 is when the ban was lifted and the export of all previously banned commodities resumed (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Monthly interception notifications of harmful organisms for Ghana from EU EUROPHYT for 2014, 2015 and 2018.

The generally high notifications due to reasons other than the presence of harmful organisms for 2018 (mostly due to poor documentation issues – absence of phyto cert or plant passport, incomplete or invalid additional declarations, etc.) is an interesting trend that needs to be curbed (Figure 2). Despite the Embedded Staff training of the PIs on proper documentation, including the issuance of phytosanitary certificates and in some cases additional declarations, to accompany the phyto cert, some PIs continue to make unpardonable mistakes and they go unpunished or are given punishment that are not deterrent enough. The question is should all

PIs write the Phyto and additional declaration? The answer is yes, as the SOP recommends the PI who conducts the inspection should also write the phyto cert for that inspection. But in reality not all the PIs are meticulous enough to write good documentation to accompany an inspected and approved consignment. The high volumes of produce exported after the lifting of the ban in 2018 and the notifications through the passenger baggage route (which normally comes as absence of phyto cert) may have all aggravated the situation. There is the need for more capacity building in this regard.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

N o

. o f in te rc ep ti o n s o f

H O s

2014 HOs 2015 HOs 2018 HOs

Figure 2. Monthly interception notifications for reasons other than the presence of harmful organisms for Ghana from EU EUROPHYT, 2014, 2015 and 2018.

Figure 3. Monthly records of local rejections (in red) compared with the number of international interceptions recorded for Ghana from EU EUROPHYT, 2018. (*Local rejection data is only available for Jan-Nov, 2018. No December data).

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

N o

. i n te rc e p ti o n s o th er t h an

H O s

Months

Reasons other than HOs

2014 Other reasons

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

N o

. o f

In te rc e p ti o n s

Local International

Continued Gaps within the System

There is still a rising interception due to reasons other than the presence of harmful organisms (anomalies in documentation that accompanies consignments) and through the passenger baggage route.

Some PIs have challenges in writing proper documentations to follow approved consignments

The PIs are more conversant with quarantine pests associated with exports and little is known about imports

There is weak linkage for sampling and inspection of imported consignments, which probably carries a much higher risk for Ghana. Ghana is still battling with the invasion by the Fall Armyworm and the American Tomato leaf miner into Ghana causing serious damage to maize and tomato plants, respectively.

There is still very high local interceptions making the export business unattractive

Exporters and their out-growers still have challenges in adhering to the roadmap for pests reduction

Some exporters fail to provide support to their out-growers by refusing to supply them with the needed pesticides, traps, lures and other supplies

Some exporters source produce from unapproved farms and sometimes from a common source. Thus, whenever there is a problem, there is a multiplicity effect leading to increased interceptions, locally and internationally

There is the need for the government to recruit more PIs

Government must support the NPPO with some logistics such as means of transport for them to become mobile officers so they intensify their visit to the field and report to work promptly at KIA

Government could motivate the PIs by paying their overtime allowances which has been in a huge arrears, sometimes serving as a seed for corruption and compromising on the phytosanitary standards

Exporter and out-grower associations must educate their members on the standards required and put in some check and balances to ensure only exporters and out-growers in good standard are allowed to grow and export

PPRSD with its current limitations in staff numbers may not be able to visit all farmer field regularly

Remaining Capacity Needs of Major Stakeholders

There is the need to continue to build the capacity of all stakeholders (PPRSD PIs, Exporters, Out-growers, Agric. Extension Agents, Scientists and Development Partners to ensure the gains made are not eroded. The specific training needs are captured in the identified gaps above. A few are pointed below:

Phytosanitary Inspectors and Agric. Extension Agents: Capacity building in pests associated with imported commodities. Exchange programmes or experiential learning abroad to learn best SPS practices elsewhere

Exporters and out-growers: More training on the roadmap for pest reduction

Scientists and Researchers: Need exchange programmes – North-South collaborations to be abreast with the latest developments in this emerging SPS field and knowledge exchange.

Development Partners and Government - Lobby government with policy briefs that will further strengthen the SPS system in Ghana

Conclusions and The Way Forward

There is the need to continue to offer more theoretical and hands-on training to the

Phytosanitary Inspectors of PPRSD at KIA, especially the newly recruited staff to ensure they continue to deliver their best. More attention should also be given to field monitoring of the exporters and their out-grower farms to ensure they are strictly following PPRSD approved protocols for crop production and protection for export. These trainings should be extended to all exporters and their out-growers, since the exporters’ recruit new out-growers every production year, thus the urgent need to upgrade their skills to fill the knowledge gap. More attention should also be given to effective inspection of imported plant commodities to ensure we prevent the introduction of possible pests of economic importance that are not native to

Ghana, in order not to worsen our situation in Ghana.

Looking at the interception notification records for Ghana for the year 2018 in comparison with other African countries as stated above, Ghana was the least. This gain could be largely attributed to a general improvement in the SPS system in Ghana and the increased vigilance at the exit points by Phytosanitary Inspectors of PPRSD with the support of the Embedded

Staff after the ban was lifted from 1st January 2018. However, there is more room for improvement to bring interception notifications both at the local and international scenes to zero. To actualize this vision of zero interceptions will require PPRSD to continue with their vigilance and support services for exporters and their out-growers with a concerted effort from other stakeholders (well represented in the composition of the Ministerial Export

Taskforce) and development partners to achieve this common and noble goal.

Acknowledgments

The Embedded Staff are very grateful to PPRSD of MoFA – Ghana, for the opportunity to serve in improving the SPS system in Ghana. We express our deepest gratitude to the financial support from USAID and University of Missouri, Columbia. We are also grateful to the USAID and UMAP representatives in Ghana for all the facilitating roles they played.

References

EUROPHYT-European Union Notification System for Plant Health Interceptions.

Interceptions of harmful organisms in commodities imported into the EU Member

States and Switzerland.

Fening, K.O. & Billah, M.K. (2017a) Guidelines to extend official export certification controls beyond the point of exit to include the fields of production and packhouses for vegetable exporters. Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) of

MoFA, September 2017, Accra, 10pp.

Fening K.O. & Billah, M.K. (2017b) Roadmap by Ghana’s NPPO to address important amendment to EU plant health regulations affecting export of chillies and peppers

(Capsicum) – to ensure produce is free from the false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). National Plant Protection Organization

(NPPO) - Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) of MoFA, Ghana, December 2017, 14pp.

Monthly activity summary reports (August 2017 to January 2019) submitted by

Embedded Staff to University of Missouri, Colombia.