A simulation exercise to test the contingency plan for a hypothetical introduction of Huanglongbing in the peninsula
By hlb-editor | October 26, 2021 | Event and News, News | 0 comments
Last week, the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research, partner of the PRE-HLB project, hosted a simulation exercise to test the contingency plan for a hypothetical introduction of Huanglongbing into the peninsula.
For two days, leading researchers, representatives of agricultural and nursery organisations, heads of regional plant health services and the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the EU Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety and the EPPO (European Plant Protection Organisation), met to simulate a phytosanitary emergency and put into practice the contingency plan, which establishes the measures to be taken in the event of an outbreak of this priority pest.
The simulation exercise is the first to be carried out in Spain and the second in Europe, after the one held in Serbia on the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) in November 2018. “Just as we do fire or earthquake drills, we need to do this with plant diseases to prepare ourselves and see how we can improve the future response,” explains Antonio Vicent, IVIA researcher and member of the EFSA Plant Health Panel.