1. The IPPC ePhyto Solution International Plant Protection Convention Secretariat IPPC Regional Workshops 2019

2. ePhyto in 3 Minutes

3. The IPPC ePhyto Solution Project -in brief-
Project to facilitate the electronic exchange of phytosanitary certificates
All participants use a single harmonized set of rules
The only project of its kind among the three World Trade Organization SPS “sisters” (IPPC (plants), Codex (food safety), OIE (animals))
Allows developing and developed countries to participate regardless of infrastructure capacity
Simplified setup and participation
Built for less than US$1 million using industry standard solutions
Simply another way to exchange phytosanitary certificates and re-export certificates; ePhyto is not mandatory and is not intended to replace the paper process, but instead provide another option to enhance and facilitate safe trade

4. What is an ePhyto?
ePhyto is short for “electronic phytosanitary certificate”.
ePhyto is the electronic equivalent of a paper phytosanitary certificate (ISPM 12)
ePhyto is not a PDF or a fax
NOT a paper certificate
NOT a scan of a paper certificate

5. What is an ePhyto? Standardized XML schema – part of an ePhyto
Paper representation

6. What is an ePhyto? – Is it secure?
The NPPO officer is the only one that can issue and approve an e- Phyto
Each role is assigned by the NPPO officer and they are restricted to what they can do in the system
The IPPC Secretariat can verify what countries have access granted to the system
The Hub cannot see what the content of the certificate is nor can it store any data
The information may be stored in the GeNs but is exclusively available to the specific country to which it belongs

7. Why ePhyto? – Example-
Non-compliant documents trigger a higher number of import rejections than actual plant health issues (harmful organisms):
Examples of non-compliant documents:
Additional declarations can be missing (if needed) or are incorrect.
The botanical name is missing
The cert is no longer valid

8. As well as….
Inefficient processes in place - labor intensive and highly manual with physical paperwork being couriered around and often re-entered
Fraudulent certificates a continuing problem – government to government electronic exchange will significantly lower the risk of counterfeiting certificates
Millions of s sent – in the grains industry alone more than 275 million s are sent annually to process the estimated 11,000 shipments of grain transported on the ocean worldwide
Any re-issuing of paper phytosanitary certificates has a tremendous cost for business
Time and money
Deterioration of commodities waiting for clearance
Customer claims for late deliveries or bad quality
Mountains of paper, a lot of it expensive paper, are produced, printed and stored or destroyed on an annual basis
Most Important – Access to a dependable, timely and affordable food supply where and when it is needed

9. What is the IPPC ePhyto Solution Specifically?

10. Countries with National Systems Countries using the GeNS
Hub and GeNS
UNICC
Countries with National Systems
Countries using the GeNS
Ghana
Sri Lanka
Samoa
United States
Rep. of Korea
Argentina
Hub
GeNS

11. Benefits of the Hub Everyone using a single harmonized set of rules
Captures the benefits of harmonization and maintains them over the long term
Avoids the costs associated with establishing country by country agreements
Creates uniform conditions for trade
Allows developing and developed countries to participate regardless of infrastructure capacity
Facilitates inclusion of national systems developed by countries
Simplified setup and participation

12. Benefits of the GeNS
Defined exchange mechanism and a standardized UN/CEFACT schema
Issuance/authorization of an ePhyto
Sending of an ePhyto
Printing of the sent certificate data on paper
Receipt of ePhyto
Ability to check the authenticity of an ePhyto after receipt
Extraction of the data from an ePhyto
Printing of the received certificate data on paper
Ability to store ePhytos for later reference
Connected to the Hub to facilitate certificate transfer
Reporting

13. Harmonization of data
Hub and the GeNS follow a harmonized set of rules
Availability of a validation tool for the XML
Codes and list are based on the Appendix 1 of ISPM 12 Phytosanitary Certificates for countries to access the IPPC ePhyto Solution
Harmonization work will be ongoing and is very important for future “automation”

14. Harmonization of data – Examples -
International Standards Organization List of Alpha 2 codes
EPPO global database for pest scientific information available in the GeNs
Search by common name (in different languages) or by botanical name
Product description, types, intended use, package codes, modes of transport, trade and transport locations, unit of measure and status codes

15. Looking Ahead Full release of the GeNS by 15 July
Interface and exchanges with other systems in progress
Working towards towards integration with Customs single windows systems
Traces system in Europe
Application modernization (offline, Mobile app….)
Working towards integration with Customs single windows systems
Continued methods for streamlining the system
Interface and exchanges with other systems in progress (e.g. Traces system in Europe by end of the year)
Application modernization - no time frame, looked at more as countries begin using the system then requests for enhancement (offline, mobile, other) will be researched and prioritized

16. Steps to get involved Hub GeNs Step 1: Get prepared
It is mandatory to have the capacity to produce ePhytos
must have a system capable of producing certificates
read all relevant documents Technical Information
the NPPO representative intending to register for the Hub should contact their Official Contact Point
Step 2: Registration
the NPPO representative can register to the Hub by going to and clicking ‘Register NPPO’
The Official IPPC Contact Point validates the registration
Step 3: Onboarding
the NPPO representative will then receive all relevant onboarding documents needed to implement the Hub
GeNs
Step 1: Get prepared
Consider the following factors as they will shape the strategy for implementing ePhyto; Function, Governance, Operational and Legal models, stakeholder consultation and lastly change management
Step 2: Registration
the NPPO representative should send a message to the IPPC Secretariat at
The IPPC Secretariat will provide the necessary setup document which must be completed in order to create that countries version of the GeNS
Step 3: Onboarding
Once the NPPO representative fills in all relevant onboarding documents needed to implement the GeNs, the UNICC will set up a test instance for the country and they can begin testing
On this website ( when you click on the Hub or GeNs tabs, there is step-by-step instructions on how to join each

17. Learn more about ePhyto:
To read more about ePhyto and how to register for the system review the following links:
Make sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to keep updated on all ePhyto news and progress
Click on the icons below to take you directly to these platforms
Planned ePhyto RWs:
South West Pacific Regional Workshop in Fiji in August,
Tentative African workshop in November in the states
Tentative Near East workshop in Morocco – date unknown

19. Contact us IPPC Secretariat Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO)
Tel.:
Web: