The technical cooperation programme launched in Tunisia in 2016 to combat the introduction and spread of the fatal Xylella fastidiosa bacteria affecting olive trees in North Africa and the Middle East is bearing fruit, but more needs to be done.
Specifically, cooperation needs to be improved among affected countries and laws regulating imports of plant species and products need to be more strictly applied, according to a seminar organised in Tunis by the secretariat of the International Convention for the protection of plant species and the FAO regional office. Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine have all gathered a large quantity of data for use in future action plans.
ANSAmed
Comments are closed.