Experts from 16 West African countries have gathered in Accra for a regional workshop designed to sharpen the continent’s capacity to detect, analyse and contain the invasive pests that cost Africa an estimated US$7 billion annually, a figure that almost certainly understates the true toll.
The workshop, organised by the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) under its PlantwisePlus Programme, brings together representatives of National Plant Protection Organisations, researchers and plant health specialists to develop regional pest risk assessments for priority invasive species.Ghana’s Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate’s Eric Quaye opened the session with a clear statement of stakes. “For West Africa, where agriculture serves as the backbone of many economies and supports millions of livelihoods, strengthening our collective capacity in pest risk analysis is both timely and necessary,” said Quaye. He also noted that increasing global trade, climate variability and cross-border movement of plant materials has heightened the risk of invasive pests entering new territories.
CABI Regional Director for West Africa Victor Clottey explained the practical value of the work being done. “This skill is important because it helps countries know where dangerous pests are, whether they are in the sub-region and have not yet entered a country, or whether they are present but have not spread widely. We are looking at the whole sub-region. Once a threat is detected somewhere, we fight it there before it reaches other countries, “ said Clottey, using Banana Bunchy Top Disease, present in some neighbouring countries but not yet in Ghana, as an illustration of why early detection in one country protects the whole region.
Clottey was equally direct about who bears responsibility for detection. Pest surveillance cannot be confined to specialists, it requires broad public engagement. “Anybody can observe something unusual and alert specialists to investigate. If a dangerous pest is detected early, we know how to contain or eradicate it before it spreads and causes havoc. The costs when containment fails, extend far beyond farm losses into education, health and community well-being. These pests may be small or microscopic but their effects are huge. Some of these losses are simply priceless,” concluded Clottey.
