Tunisia launches a PCE with support of an IPPC PCE facilitator

Group exercises during the 1st PCE workshop conducted in Tunisia © Mekki Chouibani

Tunisia launched the auto-diagnostic of its current phytosanitary system by using the Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation (PCE) tool, developed by the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). The General Directorate for Protection and Quality Control of agricultural products of Tunisia (DGPCQPA) organized the first workshop on March 13 - 15, 2018 in Tunis.

This evaluation is part of the first component of the FAO project: Strengthening quarantine pest management measures, including red palm weevil in Maghreb countries: TCP / SNE / 3601 / C1.

Each of the 13 modules of the PCE targets critical functional areas of the phytosanitary system managed by the DGPCQPA. The PCE includes a strategic planning process provided by the tool that involves (i) a gap analysis, (ii) an analysis of problems to identify and address root causes rather than symptoms, (iii) analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), and (iv) identification of priorities in the phytosanitary capacity building strategy (https://www.ippc.int/en/pce/).

All relevant partners and stakeholders have been invited by the Tunisian NPPO to be involved in the PCE process, including Ministries of (Industry, Interior, Environment, Health, Transport, Higher Education ...), other sectors of agriculture (Direction Générale de la Production Agricole, Direction Générale des Etudes et du Développement Agricole, Agence de Vulgarisation et de la Formation Agricoles) and the private sector (Groupement Interprofessionnel des Fruits, Groupement Interprofessionnel des Légumes, Union Tunisienne de l Agriculture et de la Pêche, Union Tunisienne de l Industrie, du Commerce et de l Artisanat and the Syndicat des Agriculteurs de Tunisie). This PCE is facilitated by Mekki Chouibani, IPPC accredited PCE facilitator. This activity contributes to NEPPO s strategic plan to identify the main North Africa and Near East phytosanitary gaps to build the capacities of its countries (https://www.neppo.org).

This first workshop allowed to introduce participants including the staff of the DGPCQPA to the PCE approach, to develop the profile of the country and to identify the main weaknesses related to the legislative framework, the external environment of the NPPO, the mission and strategy of the NPPO, the structure and processes of the NPPO and the resources of the NPPO. The dynamic and fruitful participation of all stakeholders illustrated well their motivation and their willingness to be involved in the process of enhancement of the phytosanitary system. The second workshop will take place from June 26 to 28, 2018.