The third phase of the African Phytosanitary Program (APP) was launched in Addis Ababa by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and regional partners, enabling the initiative to achieve maximum coverage since its launch as a pilot project in 2023.
The expansion of the program comes amid growing pressure on African exporters to comply with increasingly stringent global requirements for food safety and plant health.
Despite the continent's efforts to increase agricultural production and take advantage of expanding trade opportunities, weak monitoring systems and inconsistent compliance with phytosanitary standards remain major obstacles. The industry estimates that about 30% of Africa's agricultural exports are rejected due to non-compliance with phytosanitary requirements, which limits farmers' ability to enter international markets with higher added value.
About 100 phytosanitary specialists from 18 new participating countries, as well as officials from countries that joined the program at earlier stages, including Uganda, Egypt, Mali and South Africa, participated in the training in Addis Ababa. Representatives of Yemen and FAO plant health experts from across Africa were also present. Digital Monitoring platforms During the training, participants learned about digital monitoring platforms, geospatial technologies, and standardized pest tracking systems designed to improve early warning and response mechanisms. Each participant received a tablet computer equipped with specialized applications to support field inspections and data collection.
The program is based on the «trainer training» approach, in which national experts must transfer the acquired skills and systems to specialists of plant protection authorities in their countries. Officials said that investments in digital tools reflect the changing nature of agricultural risks. Climate change, the expansion of retail chains, and increased mobility of people and goods have created new ways for pests to spread, which often spread faster than traditional monitoring systems can respond. «Pests do not respect geographical borders or geopolitical boundaries», Ambassador Diriba Kuma, Director General of the Ethiopian Agricultural Authority, said at the opening ceremony. «To secure our food supplies and strengthen the economy, we need a coordinated, data-driven response at the continent level».
The last stage builds on the previous rounds of 2023 and 2025, during which specialists from 20 African countries were trained. The program's partners noted that a number of States are already using improved surveillance systems to strengthen trade opportunities and protect domestic crops. Egypt applies harmonized pest monitoring data to ensure market access for citrus fruits, mangoes and grapes in the Dominican Republic and Peru. Uganda and Kenya have increased control over threats such as Xylella fastidiosa and banana top strain, while Mali has increased investments in digital monitoring and technical capacity.
The International Plant Protection Convention stated that strengthening phytosanitary systems will become increasingly important as climate change changes pest distribution areas and global agricultural trade continues to grow. Improving compliance with international standards will help African exporters overcome sanitary requirements, which often act as non-tariff barriers to trade.
The program aims to create a continental network linking national plant protection organizations, enabling governments to share pest data, coordinate responses, and develop common approaches to managing emerging threats. «The African Phytosanitary Program helps to create a community of professionals working on the basis of common standards and common information platforms», said Orlando Sosa, FAO's Acting Representative in Ethiopia.
The coordinator of the Inter-African Phytosanitary Council of the African Union, Saliou Niassy, called the initiative an important effort to harmonize phytosanitary systems across Africa, and Mohamed Habib Ben Jamaa, Executive Director of the Plant Protection Organization for the Middle East and North Africa, called for greater private sector involvement in digital pest management technologies.
The program is funded by the European Union and the United Kingdom, with initial pilot support provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in 2023.
For African agricultural producers seeking to play a more significant role in global supply chains, the main challenge now will be to ensure that the digital systems implemented under the program transform into stronger national institutions, consistent enforcement and rapid response to emerging threats.
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