Rep o rt of th e tw en - Rotterdam Convention

in national and international official languages, and cooperate better in advances in cultivation of
Streptomyces avermitillis.
3.6 Fiji Islands
The contribution of the Quarantine and Inspection Division to improve the livelihood of
Fiji’s rural population and alleviate poverty was through the enforcement of the monitoring
and surveillance regulatory services, and the empowering of the general and traveling public to
protect Fiji’s natural resources (plants and animals) and its environment for agriculture and other
economic/social developments.
The Division was responsible for facilitating the increase in the export of Fiji’s agricultural
fresh produce and processed products and the provision of monitoring and surveillance regulatory
services to effectively manage the quarantine risks associated with imports into Fiji.
The review of Fiji’s Plant Quarantine Act 1985 was aimed at aligning the Act with the WTO
principles and SPS requirements and would be completed in 2005.
With the decline in the sugar industry and the boom in the tourism sector, Fiji’s agriculture
sector must be vibrant, dynamic and constantly evolving to keep pace with the increasing challenges
and promotion of the transition from traditional production to commercialization of the markets.
This transition required an IPM approach to control pests whilst maintaining the food safety and
quality standards for the markets.
The re-organization of the Quarantine and Inspection Division encompassed the review of
Legislation, cost recovery exercise, establishment of the National Biosecurity and Export Advisory
Council, National Plant Protection Organization and the overall strengthening of the division in terms
of facilities, staffing and resources, to effectively play its critical roles and successfully meet the
challenges ahead.
3.7 India
India is an agrarian country. Plant protection involved protection of agriculture from pests
and diseases through promotion of IPM, regulatory measures to prevent introduction of exotic pests/
diseases, ensuring availability of safe and quality pesticides and bio-pesticides, and training of extension
functionaries in plant protection and locust control in the scheduled desert areas.
The Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage under the Ministry of Agriculture,
Government of India is the National Plant Protection Organization exclusively devoted to plant
protection services in the country. In the States, Plant Protection exists from the block level upwards.
At the State Headquarters, the Plant Protection work is attended to by a Joint Director (Plant Protection).
At the national level, major emphasis is given to the promotion of Integrated Pest Management
to minimize the use of harmful pesticides. Under this programme, farmers were trained through
FFSs to grow healthy crops and manage pests/diseases with need-based use of chemical pesticides.
To encourage the bio-pesticide industry, the data requirement for registration of bio-pesticides has
been simplified and commercialization of all such bio-pesticides was allowed during the period of
provisional registration.
Through regulatory measures, the Government encouraged the import of elite varieties of
seeds and planting materials for increasing production and productivity of various crops. All imports
of plants and plant materials were based on pest risk assessments. In order to harmonize the
phytosanitary activities in line with international standards, a total of 19 standards were developed
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