UN’s FAO assists Namibia with the development of appropriate legislation on plants and animals
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is supporting the government to review and refine its laws regulating plant quarantine and the management of fertilizers, animal feed, and agricultural remedies.
The FAO in a statement last week said a four-day Regional Consultations of Gap Analysis Reports and Outline workshop, which forms part of a two-year technical cooperation program between the FAO and Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform took place with around 40 participants comprised of stakeholders from various public and private institutions in attendance.
Chief Regional Officer of the Kharas Regional Council, Benedictus Diergaadt during the opening of the consultations noted that the current national legislations are outdated and that there is a need to review these acts.
Diergaadt pointed out legislation such as the Namibia Plant Quarantine Act of 2008 as one of the acts that need to be reviewed and brought in line with international standards.
“As the main plant protection legal and institutional framework of the country, this act needs its provisions to be aligned with the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) standards,” he said, adding that Namibia has many pieces of legislation for the management of chemicals, however, these are fragmented, and therefore their effective implementation and enforcement is often a big challenge.
Lead Technical Officer in the FAO Legal Office, Nagris Bozorova meanwhile underscored that the workshop’s main aim is to prioritize the development of appropriate legislation and revise the structure of the Plant Health Bill based on stakeholder recommendations.
“We have four legal assessments for you to present those findings and recommendations and to discuss because hearing from you is very important for us. The consultation team will refine the legal assessment based on the input we receive from you,” she noted.
Namibia is a party to the IPPC and a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health. To comply with the requirements/standards of the IPPC under the agreement of the World Trade Organization Sanitary and Phytosanitary, the national legislation needs to review and to be aligned with the updated IPPC standards.
