1. Role of Industry Self-regulation in Phytosanitary Compliance
Andrew Edewa, PhD
National Technical Working Group in Horticulture, Kenya

2. Horticulture Technical Working Group: Who we are
National Technical Body
Members from Private and Public Sector
Addresses Industry concerns professionally in a public-private arrangement

3. Introduction
Countries require that imports comply with their national phytosanitary regulations to protect plant health as well as the natural environment within their territory
Phytosanitary regulations are important to allow for the smooth movement of goods world wide
However, these regulations pose challenges to traders from exporting countries

4. Role of Public Sector
International Agreements governing national phytosanitary regulations include GATT 1994, SPS Agreement & IPPC)
Phytosanitary regulations from standard setting to conformity assessment and monitoring have been assigned a public task which is carried out by government authorities

5. SPS Agreement and IPPC GATT 1994 (Art XX) Risk Assessment
Higher than IPPC
Risk Assessment
Precaution (Art 5.7 SPS)
Based on ISPMs by IPPC

6. Role of Private Sector
The private sector needs to comply with phytosanitary requirements: it is usually the private sector that is actively involved in handling phytosanitary risk within the chain.

7. Case of the US Plant Health Protection
In the US plant health protection and quarantine fall under the auspice of the United Sates Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Within USDA the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) aims to safeguard agriculture and natural resources & to support trade and exports of US agri-food products.
Being a member of IPPC, the US follows the IPPC in its plant health legislation (also within the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA).

8. Self-Regulation in the US
In general, Section 7 Agriculture, part 353 of the US Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR 353.7) covers certificates for exporting plants and/or plant products.
Phytosanitary certificates for exporting contain a standard wording and format so that the essential information is reported and easily found, including information about the validity of the documents.
Industry (e.g. for wood products) implements all requirements and issues industry-certificates
APHIS then issues phyto as necessary.

9. Case of EU: Firms' responsibility in EU food safety regulations
Regulation (EC) 882/2004 describes how official controls should be implemented in the EU member states.
Frequency of official controls should be regular and proportionate to the risk, taking into account the results of the checks carried out by food business operators based control or quality assurance programmes.
In general, there is a change of focus from the simple verification of compliance of a product or premises to an evaluation of the controls that have been put in place to address food-borne disease risk factors.

10. Self-Regulation in the EU
It is the competent authorities that perform official controls in the EU.
Independent third parties could generally be involved in official controls, but it needs to be notified.
The competent authorities are only allowed to delegate specific tasks related to official controls to one or more third party if certain criteria, such as independence, competence, qualification of staff, are fulfilled (see Regulation (EC) 882/2004, Art. 5).

11. How is a Self-regulatory mechanism administered?

12. Self-regulation Approach
Incorporation of Official Controls into current Production Systems
Implementation by Private sector
Self-regulation mechanisms
Audits & certification by NPPO

13. All Producers including those producing for local market
Identification and Registration of Producers
All Producers including those producing for local market
Identify all Host Plants
Introduce traceability systems

14. All sites intended for production of fruits and vegetables
Map out sites production sites
All sites intended for production of fruits and vegetables
Establish Farm Plans
Develop Crop Production Schedules

15. Develop Pest Management Strategy
Strategies to manage identified pests
Preventive Measures
Control Measures
Integrated Measures
Farm-wide and Area-wide Strategies

16. Training on Pest Management
Continuous training of management and personnel
Employing trained and competent personnel
Using the services of experts and consultants with regard to crop protection

17. Investments for effective Pest control
Infrastructure and trained staff
Insect Traps
Physical Barriers e.g. shade nets and greenhouses/tunnels
Selected pesticides and bio-control agents
Fumigation facilities
Cold treatment for fresh produce
Inspection transport and storage facilities
Fumigation with approved products
Cold Chain for unprocessed/Raw Produce (avoid cold treatment for dry capsicums)
Traceability tools and recordkeeping

18. Implementation of protocols
Regular Scouting and monitoring
Pest Control Procedures
Traceability and record keeping
Area-wide Approach
Value Chain Approach
Public-Private Collaboration

19. Establish Conformity Assessment Systems
Integrate the Strategy into Quality Management System
Assured Produce Schemes
On-farm Self-Assessment Tools
Industry Self-Regulatory Framework
Pest Surveillance along the value chain
Official Inspections and approval by NPPO or appointed agency
Annual Audits for all Production Sites and Regions

20. Public/Private Arrangements
Private Sector
Quality Standards for end-product X
Standardization of production processes
Implementation of SPS regulations
Quality of Product
Testing and Research
Process Controls
Conformity Assessment
Certification