BB. Bouato Editor in Chief

Dear Readers,

This issue of our bulletin takes a closer look at the state of research on essential oils, produced by pesticidal plants and used as a non-polluting agent for plant pest control. Preliminary work on pesticidal plants in the CEMAC zone has just been carried out, and an initial list of plants drawn up. This is an indication of IAPSC commitment in this domain and it is a basis for future action. This basic information will form a basis for IAPSC future action in this area.

A number of universities are also devoting efforts to this branch of phytosanitary research. The University of Ngaoundere in Cameroon, recently organized (13-14 October 2005) a colloquium on essential oils used as biopesticides. We are also publishing research work carried out in this subject by the Faculty of Agronomy of the Ladoke Akintota University of Technology in Oyo State, Nigeria. As for the existing pesticides, an important milestone has just been reached in the Central African sub-region : the signing of the common pesticides homologation regulation by Agriculture Ministers of the sub-region.

We are also publishing an article on the IPHYTROP-CIRAD-AGROPOLIS seminar on pesticides management in a crisis situation, which was held on 28 October 2005 at Agropolis International, in Montpellier, France.

On 26 October 2005, on the sidelines of the 7th International Conference on Pests in Agriculture (ICPA), a number of plant protection organizations decided to create the Association Francophone Internationale de Protection des Plantes, AFIPP (International Francophone Association for Plant Protection). Former IAPSC Scientific Secretary, Dr Nazaire Nkouka was elected President of the association.

IAPSC activities during this period also included the launching of the TCP/FAO-IAPSC project on capacity building for African countries within the framework of information exchange in the International Phytosanitary Portal (IPP) of the IPPC. To this end, two workshops are currently in preparation : one for Anglophone countries to be held in Accra, Ghana, and another to be held in Douala, Cameroon, for Francophone countries.

Pursuant to the recommendation of the 20th General Assembly relating to the creation of IAPSC Focal Points in member countries, the IAPSC recently embarked on identifying and setting up these structures, following proposals from the national plant protection services of the concerned countries. The IAPSC thus intends to put in place, as soon as possible, these focal points which shall constitute an operational and dynamic network, and the basis of its activities in African Union member countries, as stipulated in the Common African Plant Protection Strategy which was adopted at the 20th IAPSC General Assembly. The implementation process of this recommendation is published in this issue. We also revisit the state of preparations against the IAPSC General Assembly scheduled for the second half of March 2006, in Cairo, Egypt. Dear readers, while hoping that you enjoy reading this issue of our bulletin, we also invite you to visit our website at www.au-appo.org for more news of the Phytosanitary world. To read the Bulletin please click in PDF file below...

Phytosanitary News Bulletin N° 47 October - December 2005 (PDF, 338.3 ko)

Web page edited by :B. Bouato, Webmaster, IAPSC