Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture has conducted the Strengthening National Capacity of the Maldives Plant and Animal Quarantine service, a training programme on risk management for phytosanitary and veterinary control at the borders, export certification and surveillance in Male' City. The programme was conducted by the fisheries ministry with the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) from December 4-7.
The programme provided information to the staff of relevant agencies involved in inspecting these items during the import of plants and live animals. The participants were also briefed on the standards of the International Plant Protection Convention, the World Trade Organisation (WHO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, the World Organisation for Animal Health Code and the inspection standards for food imports and exports in the Codex Alimentarius. In addition, plant health and commodity inspection training was given during the programme.
The programme was conducted by two professionals from FAO. A total of 28 participants from the fisheries ministry's Agriculture Department and Maldives Marine Research Institute as well as six stakeholders participated in the programme. These include employees of the Maldives Customs Services (MCS), Maldives Ports Limited (MPL), the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA), Health Protection Agency (HPA), Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).