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Contact:
Chris Satney
Friday, November 25, 2005 - Ministry of Agriculture officials are now
looking forward to the completion of a “Draft Plant Protection Act “ following
the execution of its final consultation with stakeholders on the formulation of
the document.
The process which has been ongoing for four years is based on a model act which
was developed by the Food and Agricultural Organization, the FAO. Other
organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American
Health Organization (PAHO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture (ICCA) have all made their input which has since saw the update of
certain legislation in the FAO Act dealing with agricultural health and food
safety.
“We've been at a few consultations such as this earlier in the process looking
at the legislation and trying to guide the legislative drafters in meeting all
of the requirements that the legislation made provisions for,” said Danley
Auguste, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries.
The modernized version will replace the Plant Protection Act number 21 of 1988.
The objective of the Act is to protect the plant resources of St. Lucia.
Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Honourable Ignatius Jean says
the legislation will also prevent the introduction and spread of plant pest and
diseases and additionally to take measures if necessary to protect those plant
resources.
“The type of environment we operate today, we have to keep re-examining a lot of
our legislation and make them more relevant to times that we are living in. With
respect to a lot of matters concerning international trade and lots of standards
that are being set in the international arena and at a local level,” Said
Minister Jean.
The Minister says consumers have become very sophisticated and are very
concerned about what they are consuming. As such, He says, Government through
this piece of legislation will also ensure the protection of citizens and
visitors alike from dangers that may arise from the systems of crop and animal
productions.
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