Local Consultant – Quarantine and Phytosanitary Measures

1. THE SEED TRADE PROJECT

The Feed the Future Southern Africa Seed Trade Project (Seed Trade Project) is a five-year project funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Southern Africa and implemented by DAI.

The Seed Trade Project provides technical assistance for harmonizing policies and regulations governing seed trade in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to facilitate seed trade across the region, integrating small and isolated national markets into one larger SADC market for seeds. The project supports the availability of improved varieties and high-quality seed of targeted crops (maize, soybeans and groundnuts) in four focus countries: Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The Seed Trade Project is part of a regional policy effort to improve agricultural productivity, food security and nutrition.

2. BACKGROUND:

The purpose of the SADC harmonized Quarantine and Phytosanitary Measures for seed is to reduce costs related to seed trade and encourage faster and safer movement of seed. This will be reached through (i) establishment of transparent and science-based common Standards and Procedures for seed movement in the SADC region, supported by documentation; and (ii) through the introduction of rationalized SADC pest lists for the movement of seed between Member States, and from outside countries into the SADC region.

The SADC Seed Centre, with technical support from the SADC Seed Committee and NPPOs, will assist Member States with the documentation of current measures and their impacts on seed exchange; facilitate the organization of technical reviews to develop better standards and procedures, and to secure that new initiatives are in line with regional and international agreements; design and support efforts that will secure political support to rationalize and harmonize regulations; assist in the establishment of databases to record current national regulations and key documents, issuance of permits (including seed quantities involved), critical issues, and disputes; keep Member States informed via the SADC-FANR website and through other means; and assist in sourcing funding to support the above activities.

The SADC Seed Centre will seek close collaboration with the NPPOs and support the organization of regional meetings to address: the development and updating of phytosanitary guidelines and procedures for seed; identification and recommendation of better methodologies for utilization in the phytosanitary system(s) for seed; and development of methods to monitor and provide technical backstopping to the established system(s).

Two rationalized pest lists have been introduced: (i) a SADC list of pests which require control when seed is traded between SADC Member States, and (ii) a SADC list of pests which require control when seed is traded into a SADC country from outside the region. The lists only include pests that are of economic significance, are not common in the SADC region, and are seed borne. For seed movement between SADC Member States the advantages of the rationalized list are as follows:

1. Testing and quarantine measures for seed are only required for diseases which are not common in all SADC Member States, are seed borne, and are of economic importance;
2. Since all SADC Member States are testing for the same diseases, retesting of seed consignments on arrival in the importing country may be reduced and eventually no longer be necessary – except in cases where there are concrete reasons to assume that a new pest and/or disease may be introduced;
3. The need for a country to test seed which is to be re-exported after a period in transit may be reduced; and since fewer pests will need to be checked at entry points, clearance and entry of consignments will be faster

In the case of seed movement from a country outside SADC to a SADC country, the advantage is that when it has been established by the importing SADC country that the consignment meets SADC requirements then the seed can be moved to any other SADC country without further testing

In November 2017 the SADC pest lists were revised and updated during the SADC Seed Technical Committee Meeting which was convened in Johannesburg, South Africa. The meeting reviewed the regional HSRS pest lists to include newly introduced pests and diseases in the region and to remove those considered to be irrelevant as pests of economic importance. The pest update covered the inclusion of six (6) pests that were identified as eminent threats to the regional food security and trade. The pests and diseases include the Maize Lethal Necrosis disease, Banana Bunchy Top Virus disease, Panama disease TR4, Tuta absoluta, Asian Fruit fly and the Fall armyworm. However, it appears as if some NPPOs did not receive the report on the updating of the pest lists.

• There is need for a further revision and to update the regional pest lists. Drafts of these revisions will be reviewed and validated during the SADC Seed Technical meeting planned for October 2019.
• In February 2019, the Seed Trade Project facilitated field inspection of SADC seed maize crops grown in different locations in Zambia.The Plant Health Inspectors in the team cited the fact that the SADC pest lists were out dated and that there was no information on quarantine/noxious weeds. In preparation for scaling up seed certification under the SADC Harmonized Seed Regulatory System, there is a need to develop SADC guidelines for Quarantine and Phytosanitary Measures for Seed for use by stakeholders from the public as well as the private sector.

3. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE:

Reporting directly to the Chief of Party and or his/her designate, the Consultant is responsible for compiling SADC Guidelines on Quarantine and Phytosanitary Measures for Seed for field use. The Guidelines will be synthesized based on the Technical Agreements of the SADC Seed Regulatory System, International Standards for Phytosanitary measures, as well as on the decisions reached by consensus during the SADC Technical Meeting.

1. Document current phytosanitary measures at national and regional level and their impacts on interregional seeds exchange and on exchange of seeds between SADC and countries beyond the region.
2. Develop phytosanitary guidelines and procedures for seed necessary to enhance smooth, faster and safe movement of seed across borders for seed traded under the SADC HSRS.
3. Review the current rationalized SADC HSRS pest lists. For each list tabulate newly introduced pests in the region that should be considered for inclusion providing reasons; and remove those considered to be irrelevant as pests of economic importance providing reasons.
4. How should the SADC Quarantine and Phytosanitary Measures for Seed system be monitored/provision of technical backstopping/audited?
5. How should technical problems and disputes be handled?
6. The Consultant is responsible for content-wise training development and provision of actual training to phytosanitary inspectors in pest risk analysis, updating of SADC harmonized pest lists and quarantine & phytosanitary measures as per HSR Technical Agreements. The consultant is expected to provide a training course in English for phytosanitary inspectors from Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.

4. DELIVERABLES:

• Document current phytosanitary measures at national and regional level and their impacts on interregional seeds exchange and on exchange of seeds between SADC and countries beyond the region.
• Draft Guidelines for SADC Quarantine and Phytosanitary Measures for Seed to cover:

1. 1. A list of provisions/regulations necessary in national legislation for domestication of the SADC Quarantine and Phytosanitary Measures for Seed that will further the harmonization processes for quarantine and phytosanitary measures for seed;
   2. Information on key documents, and issuance of permits;
   3. Procedure for technical backstopping, monitoring and auditing of the system.;
   4. Procedure for resolving technical problems and disputes.

• Key recommendations based on the findings of the study;
• Revised SADC pest lists;
• Agreed phytosanitary inspectors training course program (theory and practical)
• English based phytosanitary inspectors training course conducted for phytosanitary inspectors selected from Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
• Approved training reports (including training evaluations) for the above-mentioned course.

5. ESTIMATED TRAVEL

The consultant is expected to travel from home base to Johannesburg, South Africa to present the Draft Technical Guidelines on SADC Quarantine and Phytosanitary Measures for Seed to the SADC Seed Technical Committee. The consultant will be expected to use the feedback from the meeting to finalize the guidelines. The dates for the travel will be advised in due course but are expected to be around the last week of October 2019.

6. QUALIFICATIONS:
The assessment will be conducted by one local expert on quarantine and phytosanitary measures for seed with extensive experience in agriculture, plant protection, and trade of agricultural commodities, as well as, seed systems and their legal framework in the SADC Region.

The Local Expert should have:

• Advanced degree in Agriculture, Plant Science or Plant Protection
• Demonstrated experience in quarantine and phytosanitary measures for seed at international, regional, and local level.
• Demonstrated knowledge of quarantine and phytosanitary legislation and seed trade
• Knowledge of seed systems in the SADC Region
• Demonstrated experience in SADC HSRS
• Excellent written and oral communication skills