SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITORY MEASURES

SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY REQUIREMQENTS In WTO agreement, protection of human safety or health, protection of animal and plant life or health and also protection of the environment is of prime importance, all these are broadly covered in Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) requirements. The agreement on the application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures is an integral part of final Act GATT 1994 (b) and of Agreement on Agriculture.SPS measures are defined as any measure applied in the following ways(a) To protect animal or plant life or health within the territory of the member from risks arising from the entry, establishment or spread or pests, disease and disease carrying organisms; (b) To protect human or animal life or health within the territory of the member from risks arising from additives, contaminants, toxins or disease causing organisms on foods, beverages or feed stuffs; (c) To protect human life or health within the territory of the member from risks arising from the disease carried by animals,plants or products thereof, or from the entry, establishment or spread of pests; or (d) To prevent or limit other damages within the territory of the member from the entry, establishment or spread of the pests. SPS measures include all laws decrees, regulation requirements and procedures including inter alia, end product criteria, process and production methods, testing, inspection certification and approval procedures, quarantine treatments including relevant requirements associated with the transport of animals or plants or with the materials necessary for their survival during transportation, provisions on the relevant statistical methods, sampling procedures and methods of risk assessment and packaging and labelling requirements directly related to food safety.

These measures thus include food additives, contaminants, toxins, drug or pesticide residues in food, certificate of food, animal or plant health safety, processing methods, food labelling, plant or animal quarantine, requirement for prevention, control or establishment of pest or disease and sanitary requirements for imports. Where as the sanitary provisions relates to food and animal health, phytosanitary provisions relate to plant health aspects of products. Phyto Sanitary Certification (PSC) The phytosanitary certificate is an official declaration stating that plants and plant material that move across international boundaries are free from pests and diseases so as to prevent introduction and spread of any pests in the newer areas. PSC paves the way for rapid screening and expeditious release of imported plants/ plant material at the port of arrival .In WTO agreement, its adoption has assumed greater significance. Facilities for issue of PSC: The requisite arrangements have been made in the country for the inspection of PSC.All Plant Quarantine field stations are authorised to issue PSC in respect of exportable agricultural items, where as the identified officers of the Argil/Horticulture Departments of States/ Unoin tritories are comprising fresh fruits and vegetables. Procedure: (1) Application Exporter has to apply to the PSC Issuing Officer (PIO) (2) Intimation from PIO- about date, place, time to produce exportable material for certification (3) Presentation of consignment-Exporter will do it at his own expanses (4) Inspection (5) Facility for inspection (6) Sampling to issue PSC only for perishable commodities

(7) Post inspection formalities (8) Validity of PSC (9) Realisation of fees- to be paid by exporter (10) Fumigation of exportable consignment , Approval of Pest Control Operator (PCO)

is required. Plant Quarantine Regulation Destructive Insects & Pests Act, 1914 The Plant, fruits & Seeds Regulation of import into India, order 1989 (PFS order) Bio security and sanitary-phytosanitary import permit will be issued by the Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Government of India. International Standards Article 3 of the SPS Agreement, envisages application of international standards as basis for SPS regulations of the member countries as divergence of standards and regulations adds cost to international trade. However, divergence arising from legitimate differences in societal preferences, technological developments, environmental and health conditions, may be justified. In such cases, mutual recognition of standards is a desirable option. On the other hand, where divergences are not justified, harmonisation of international standards should provide appropriate solution. In either case, the crucial requirement is the efficiency and fairness of the process of international standard-development. Benefits of harmonisation may not reach equally to all the members if the process is guided by motives that exclude other market participants or if the procedure is not adequately transparent. International standards developed for food safety by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, for animal health by the International Office of Epizootics and for plant protection by the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention are recognised by the SPS Agreement. For areas not covered by these organisations, the SPS Committee recognizes standards developed by other relevant international organisations.

Codex Alimentarius Commission The Codex Alimentarius Commission, a joint FAO/WHO Commission, with a membership of over 160 countries, has developed the Codex Alimentarius, a collection of international food standards for all principal food products. The Codex Alimentarius includes nearly 5000 standards, aimed at protecting the health of consumers and for ensuring fair practices in the food trade. India is a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and the Ministry of Health is the Nodal Agency. The country has passively adopted the Codex Alimentarius and India does not have any process for developing internal standards, although a National Codex Committee and a Central Committee for Food Standards exist. These Committees should be armed with infrastructure for testing to ensure that international standards are suitable to the Indian situation if not to develop appropriate alternative standards. There is also a need to establish a network of laboratories to certify that the products meet international/national standards. The key issues are the chemical/pesticides residue limit and detection of food-borne pathogens. The National Codex Secretariat (NCS), housed inthe Ministry of Health, is a nonentity. Considering the new challenges, the NCS should be provided with appropriate technical manpower and facilities to effectively coordinate and facilitate agricultural trade related to CAC requirements. India has a great strength in producing organically grown food-using organic manures, soilenriching cropping sequences and biological management of pests. Organic farming should be further strengthened by providing alternative energy sources to the farmers so that organic matter burnt as fuel becomes available for soil enrichment. The country has encouraged alternative energy sources like biogas and solar energy but more aggressive efforts are required through government and non-government extension agencies, to highlight the benefits that would accrue to the farmers. With increasing awareness of environmental concerns and health consciousness, national and international demand for organically grown food would grow and farmers would get higher returns for their produce. To take advantage of the emerging opportunities, the country must be supported by guidelines for the production, processing, labelling and marketing of organically grown food and putting in place a certification system to assure organic production of a commodity. Certification system has to be based on continuous objective inspection, quality auditing of the inputs as well as the produce. The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)

The IPPC Secretariat was established in 1993, for phytosanitary standard-setting and harmonisation of phytosanitary measures affecting trade. The nodal agency for setting phytosanitary standards in India, is the Directorate of Plant Protection, Ministry of Agriculture. The main objective of IPPC is to, prevent the spread and introduction of pests of plants and plant products and to promote measures for their control. Special emphasis is on the quarantine pests which are either not present in the country or are not widely distributed and have the potential of causing economic losses. The pests include invasive species like weeds, which not only reduce yields of crop plants and add to the cost of cultivation but also pose health hazards. Parthenium hysterophorus, commonly known as congress grass, is an apt example of such introduction. It was inadvertently introduced in the country in early sixties through wheat consignments. It first established itself in areas adjoining the ports of entry but soon spread to all parts of the country causing serious human health problems, particularly asthma and skin diseases. According to the present mandates, IPPC has responsibility for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) also, because, GMOs are included in the category of invasive species. Since, GMOs do not fall in the category of invasive species, a review of mandate allocation is called for. The National Plant Protection Organisation i.e. the Directorate of Plant Protection has major responsibility of not only preventing introduction of exotic plant pests but also to ensure and certify that plants and plant products exported from the country are free from pests. It is a tall order and requires a very efficient and competent system to perform the following functions as per the IPPC guidelines: i. inspection of growing plants, of areas under cultivation (including fields, plantations, nurseries, gardens and greenhouses), and of plants and plant products in storage orin transportation, particularly with the object of reporting the existence, outbreak and spread of plant pests and controlling those pests; ii. inspection of consignments of plants and plant products moving in international traffic and, where appropriate, inspection of consignments of other articles or commodities moving in international traffic under conditions where they may act incidentally as carriers of pests of plants and plant products, and the inspection and supervision of storage and transportation facilities of all kinds involved in international traffic whether of plants and plant products or of

other commodities, particularly with the object of preventing dissemination of pests of plants and plant products across national boundaries; iii. disinfestation or disinfection of consignments of plants and plant products moving in international traffic, and their containers (including packing material or matter of any kind accompanying plants or plant products), storage places, or transportation facilities of all kinds employed; iv. issuance of phytosanitary certificates relating to phytosanitary conditions and origin of consignments of plants and plant products; v. determine the distribution of information within the country regarding pests of plants and plant products and the means of their prevention and control; vi. conduct research and investigation in the field of plant protection; vii. report on the existence, outbreak and spread of economically important pests of plants and plant products which may be of immediate or potential danger; and viii. dissemination of information on means found to be effective in controlling the pests of plants and plant products. The Directorate of Plant Protection, which has been charged with the above responsibilities initiated activities, started mainly for plant quarantine purposes, at the major airports and seaports. Gradually, particularly with the ratification of WTO treaty, their responsibilities increased but infrastructural facilities did not improve commensurate with the additional responsibilities. Recently, four state-of-the-art facilities have been established at Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta and Amritsar with the UNDP/FAO assistance, but these laboratories lack adequately qualified technical manpower and the resources to effectively perform all the assigned functions. For a country of our size having more than 50 ports of entry, many more such facilities are required. We also do not have complete understanding of the SPS measures of our target markets, mainly due to the lack of direct technical contact with the concerned authorities in those countries. This gap can be bridged if the country posts a technically qualified agricultural attach at our diplomatic missions in the countries of interest. Summary of Recommendations _ SPS Agreement envisages use of international standards as a basis for SPS regulations of the member countries. At present, India passively adopts the standards developed by other countries. There is an urgent need to establish referral laboratories for testing the international standards for their suitability to the Indian situation and developing

standards, which would be in the interest of countrys agriculture. The key issues are the chemical/pesticides residue limit and detection of food-borne pathogens. _ India has a great strength in producing organically grown food. To take advantage of the emerging opportunities the country must strengthen organic farming and develop guidelines for the production, processing, labelling and marketing of organically grown food, and put in place a certification system to assure organic production of a commodity. _ The Directorate of Plant Protection, which has the responsibility of preventing the spread and introduction of pests of plants and plant products and to promote measures for their control, started mainly for the purposes of plant quarantine at the major airports and seaports. With the ratification of WTO treaty, their responsibilities increased but not the infrastructural facilities commensurate with additional responsibilities. Recently, four state-of-the-art facilities have been established, but these laboratories do not have adequate qualified senior technical manpower and resources required to effectively perform all the functions related to SPS measures. Moreover, considering the vast size of the country having more than 50 ports of entry, many more such facilities are required. The Department requires strengthening and complete reorganisation so that it is able to address various SPS related issues, effectively. _ The present situation is not satisfactory due to overburdening of limited resources and lack of general concerns about domestic as well as the international SPSmeasures. For example, the Immigration Declaration Form at the Indian ports of entry does not have any clause for declaring plant parts or food products of plant and/or animal origin being carried by the passengers. At the arrival lounge, there is no proper space and trained personnel to meet the functional needs of plant quarantine; both need correction. _ India has a vast wealth of animals and fishes which could become an important component of our international trade, if we put in place an efficient and transparent mechanism of meeting international standards in the field of animal health. _ India has an advantage of international trade in meat products as it produces lean meat which is low in cholesterol and is free of growth promoters and chemicals. However, it is necessary to take measures to promote meat industry by encouraging animal farming to produce quality meat, based on scientific principles. The mechanism of issuing SPS

certificates for the export of meat and fish products in various parts of the country requires harmonisation, and the laboratories accredited to test the products meant for export should have adequate infrastructure to meet international standards. _ In principle, the safety measures and SPS standards must be based on science. The country, therefore, has to prepare itself to develop SPS measures which should be scientifically sound, and when required should be able to challenge the SPS measures of trade partners on scientific basis. _ We must undertake pest risk assessment (PRA), identify areas/regions free from such pests both of plants and animals, take appropriate measures to maintain disease-free status and develop eradication programme for diseases, which could hamper international trade. Some countries may have difficulty in scientific PRA but India has the advantage of having welltrained human resource which can play a significant role in the process of sound domestic PRA. Our technical resources can also be made available to other countries under suitable framework of international cooperation. _ Transparency of the SPS measures based on sound science, is important for promoting international trade. This can be best achieved through the use of electronic media. _ SPS Agreement has the important provision of accepting as equivalent the SPS measures of other members. Some countries interpret this provision as sameness, instead of equivalence of measures. There is a need to clearly define equivalence in the SPS Agreement. Equivalence is the ideal option when international standards are lacking or are inappropriate. _ Article 4.2, encourages member countries to develop Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs). The MRAs reduce costs by avoiding duplicative testing and eliminating delays. India needs to play a proactive role in utilising the provision of MRAs. _ Article 6 of the SPS Agreement, deals with the adaptation to regional conditions, including the recognition of pest- or disease-free areas or areas of low pest or disease prevalence. It is an important clause for countries like India, which have a vast geographical area and diverse agroclimatic zones. For utilising this clause for the benefit of agricultural export, the country must undertake programmes to identify and maintain some areas free of plant and animal pests of significance to international trade. The country must identify the priority export items and take measures to promote export from

the pest- or disease-free areas. India should also seek inclusion of a clause in Article 6, to the effect that once an area is recognized as pest- or disease-free all the member countries should accept it, without the need for additional assessment process. _ To facilitate effective implementation of SPS Agreement, Article 9.1 provides for assistance to developing countries either on a bilateral basis or through appropriate international organisation. These provisions can be utilised to great advantage. India can also extend special technical assistance to countries. _ Article 10 of the SPS Agreement, provides for special and differential treatment for the developing and least developed countries. India should prepare a shortlist of major agricultural export products, identify the main constraints these products face in the countries of destination and request these countries and/or the relevant international organisations to provide assistance to facilitate the export of the listed products. _ According to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) pests include the invasive species like weeds as well as the genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The status of GMOs needs to be redefined in the light of recent debates in the country and elsewhere. All GMOs do not fall in the category of invasive species. _ India can play an important role in debating and suggesting approaches to harmonisation of procedures, by sending technical representatives to the international meetings related to WTO/SPS, so that international standards do not become disguised barriers to trade. _ We do not have complete understanding of the SPS measures of our target markets, mainly due to the lack of direct technical contact with the concerned authorities in those countries. This gap can be effectively bridged if the country posts a technically sound agricultural attach at our diplomatic missions in the countries of interest. _ All the member countries are required to establish an Enquiry Point to receive and respond to requests for information regarding domestic SPS measures, including new or existing regulations and decisions based on risk assessment. The enquiry point can also be the nodal point for notifying the WTO Secretariat. India does not have a single window enquiry point. It must be developed for effective utilisation of the provisions of SPS Agreement. Major functions of the enquiry point would be to: serve as notification authority,

coordinate with SPS related Committees, represent countrys interests in international fora, and identify and resolve technical issues related to agricultural trade.

National Phytosanitary Control System The current status of implementation of phytosanitary measures is described below. 1. Legislation The plant quarantine (PQ) regulations are operative in India through the Destructive Insects and Pests (DIP) Act, 1914 and amendments issued thereunder. Section 3 of the DIP Act empowers the Central Government to regulate or prohibit the import of articles likely to cause infection to any crop or of insects generally or any class of insects by a notification published in the Gazette of India. Further an amendment issued to Section 3 (vide the Destructive Insects and Pests Amendment and Validation) Act, 1992 (No. 12 of 1992 published in Part II Section 1, Gazette of India dated 31 March 1992) empowers the Central Government to levy and collect fees at prescribed rates by a notification issued under Section 3 of the said Act. Section 4 of the DIP Act empowers the Customs to operate the above notifications issued under Section 3 as if they had been issued under Section 11 (k) of Customs Act, 1962. The Sections 4A, 4B and 4D of the Act deal with powers of Central Government to issue domestic quarantine regulations and Section 5 and 5A deal with powers of State Governments to make domestic quarantine regulations and penalties for contravention of notification issued under 4A and provisions of 4B. A new draft Plant Quarantine Bill is under consideration by the Ministry of Agriculture for replacing the existing DIP Act of 1914 with the following mandates viz., to prevent the introduction of quarantine pests in India by regulating the importation of plants, plant products and other objects; to prevent the spread of quarantine pests outside India by regulating the exportation of plants, plant products and other objects; to prevent the spread of quarantine pests from one State to another; to regulate the introduction in India of new or beneficial organisms and soil; to give effect to international agreements to which India is a party and in particular to the International Plant Protection Convention, the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade; and to provide for the constitution of the Plant Quarantine Authority of India and to ensure efficiency and accountability in the implementation of the above objectives.

The import of seeds/plants/plant materials both for sowing/planting/propagation and consumption, and soil/peat-moss, etc., is regulated by the Plants, Fruits and Seeds (PFS) (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 1989 (Notification S.O. 867 (E) dated 26 October, 1989) (PFS Order) and amendments issuedthereunder. Both import permits issued by the Plant Protection Adviser or any authorized officer under the above-said notification and the Phytosanitary Certificate issued at the country of origin are mandatory for import of plants/plant material for sowing/planting/propagation as well as consumption. A special permit issued by the Plant Protection Adviser regulates the import of soil or peat/sphagnum moss. Further, the import of cotton is regulated by Import of Cotton into India Regulations, 1972 (Notification G.S.R.393 (E) dated 26 August 1972) as amended by a Notification G.S.R.441 (E) dated 12 October 1972. As per the above notifications, cotton shall not be imported into India by sea except through the ports of Bhavnagar, Kolkata [Calcutta], Chennai [Madras], Cochin, Mumbai [Bombay] and Tuticorin. The fumigation is mandatory for the import of cotton bales into India at the port of entry to prevent the entry of cotton boll weevil. The import of live insects regulated by Notification No. 193/40A dated 3 February 1941 and the import of live fungi regulated by Notification No. 16-5(1)/43A dated 10tMay 1943. The import of germplasm is permitted by the Director, NBPGR, New Delhi and for research purpose by the institutes or organizations under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)/State agricultural universities. The import of transgenic seeds for research/trial purpose is permitted under a special permit issued by the Director, NBPGR, New Delhi after its import clearance by the Recombination Committee on Genetic Engineering and Modification of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) constituted under the chairmanship of the Adviser, DBT. A draft Plant Quarantine Order is in the process of notification to replace existing PFS (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 1989 and amendments issued there under to provide comprehensive regulations for importation of plants and plant products both for consumption and propagation; germplasm and transgenic; biocontrol agents; live insects and microbial cultures including algae; and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), soil, etc. 2. Organizational Structure The Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage established under the Ministry of Agriculture (Department of Agriculture and Cooperation) is responsible for the administration of PQ regulations issued under the DIP Act, 1914. The Directorate is headed by the Plant Protection

Adviser and assisted by Joint Director (PQ) in PQ matters. A total of 57 points of entry are notified for import of plants plant material, of which 29 PQ stations are established that are manned by 461 staff and the rest are proposed for establishment under the 10th plan period (2002-07). However, the import of seed and propagating plant material is restricted through five major stations, viz., Amritsar, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. The above regional stations are headed by Deputy Directors (Entomology/Plant Pathology) and assisted by Assistant Directors specialized in Nematology, Bacteriology, Virology and weed science and the minor stations are headed by Plant Protection Officers specialized in entomology or plant pathology. 3. Infrastructure Facilities Keeping in view the significant role played by the phytosanitary services in safe conduct of global trade in agriculture, the Government of India (Ministry of Agriculture) has established modern pest diagnostic laboratory facilities with high-tech scientific equipments at four regional centers of Amritsar, Chennai, Kolkata and New Delhi. The Project was aimed at developing and strengthening of PQ facilities at major ports through capacity building and human resource development. Under the FAO/UNDP Project training fellowship visits, study tour programs were organized in developed countries to acquire the knowledge of quarantine procedures and guidelines, rapid diagnostic techniques and to acquaint with quarantine policies and regulations in the implementation of phytosanitary measures. Besides this, local training programs were also held to upgrade the skills of in-service PQ personnel working at those ports. Further under the above-said Project, various expert consultations were organized in drafting PQ legislation; training programs/workshops in pest risk analysis and surveillance; preparation of operational manuals; setting up of laboratory diagnostic facilities; designing of glasshouse facilities; quality systems and auditing, etc. A PQ website entitled

<http://www.plantquarantineindia.org> was designed and hosted under the above-said Project .The PQ website provides information about contact points; PQ set-up; PQ act and regulations; New Seed Policy guidelines; quarantine procedures for issuance of permit, import clearance, postentry quarantine inspection and export inspection and certification of agriculture commodities. A software package entitled Quarantina 2k was developed in visual basic in front end and SQL in back end for computerized issuance of permits, import release orders and the phytosanitary certificates. Thesame was installed at four major PQ stations at

Amritsar/Kolkata (Calcutta)/Chennai (Madras)/New Delhi and the staff have been trained. A National Phytosanitary Database was developed under the assistance of FAO/UNDP Project providing the data related to import inspection and export certification of agricultural commodities for the last five years, issuance of permits and the staffing of all PQ stations and the crop protection specialists. Further a suitable software package entitled Phytopest was developed for creating endemic pest database of prioritized commodities. Quality systems ISO 9002 certification was implemented for quarantine screening and laboratory testing of import/export plants and plant material at National Plant Quarantine Station, Rangapuri, New Delhi and the Regional Plant Quarantine Station, Chennai. The quality systems ISO 9002 certification involved preparation of quality policy manual/quality procedures manual for documentation of procedures being practiced and periodical review and auditing to ensure the documented procedures being followed through corrective and preventive actions. Further, a comprehensive need assessment was undertaken under FAO-TCP (Technical Cooperation Programme) Project TCP/IND/ 8925, which identified the following key strategic issues, viz., development of integrated information management system, integrated pest risk analysis system, integrated surveillance system, integrated phytosanitary certification system, integrated phytosanitary border control system and developing and strengthening of facilities at minor ports for a fully national integrated PQ service to meet the global challenges of WTOSPS Agreement.