The UAE Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) recently joined top officials from the Arab world for a summit to coordinate efforts to combat blight and plant epidemics in the region. The meeting held in Amman, Jordan and convened by The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) in tandem with Jordan’s Ministry of Agriculture was sparked by growing concern in the Arab world over plant protection.
Engineer Saeed Bin Awash, who led MAF’s delegation, said such meetings were necessary to boost cooperation and coordination between the Arab states. He added: “Blight can cross borders very easily, so our efforts to fight it have to be coordinated. There is a need for an integrated management to fight the disease and the Arab countries should give priority to control and eradication programmes to keep it at bay.”
Awash said the exchange of views between experts in the region was crucial to the fight against plant diseases. He called for detailed country-by-country surveys to assess levels of infection and risk in order to develop laws and regulations to keep these in check and that meet international standards.
Officials from the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania and Yemen took part in the meeting.
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
