With reference to the article titled ‘Olive tree growers concerned amid deadly disease outbreak’ published by Times of Malta on October 23, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights acknowledges the concerns of the sector on the disease Xylella fastidiosa, which is also of concern to the ministry.
In fact, the ministry has taken several initiatives and measures to prevent the entry and spread of this disease into the Maltese territory.
Xylella fastidiosa is a plant quarantine bacterium which is regulated by Council Directive 2000/29/EC on protective measures against the introduction into the community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread and specifically by Commission Implementing Decision 2015/789 as regards measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.)
This lays down the legislative basis for the control of the harmful organism in all EU member states. Malta implemented the EU legal provision through Subsidiary Legislation 433.29 Control of Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.) Regulations, published in 2017 which was repealed and currently SL 433.33.
Maltese law introduced an obligation to the public and traders of plants to notify any movement from the EU and imports from third countries into Malta, 48 hours prior to the arrival of the plant material.
Notification of movement and imports is done through dedicated forms and IT systems. Entry of plants into Malta is to comply with the requirements set out in EU and national law and material must be accompanied with the required certification issued by the plant protection organisation of the exporting country.
Following Malta’s membership of the European Union, the internal movement followed new trends, and brought along a number of challenges.
The notification system aids the directorate to gain information on the risks upon which actions and enforcements could be taken.
Legal action is taken over non-compliance and consignments are either sent back to the place of origin or destroyed.
The implementation of the regulations and control of this harmful organism falls under the remit of the Plant Protection Directorate, which is the official body responsible for carrying out surveys, checks and control of plant diseases.
As part of its work related to the monitoring of this disease, the directorate performs surveys in fields, public open spaces, woodlands, nurseries and traders.
During such activities, plant health inspectors examine plants through visual inspections for any symptoms of the disease and collect plant samples to be examined in the laboratory in case of asymptomatic plants. Such activities are part of an annual monitoring plan which is financed by the European Commission.
Monitoring and surveillance for Xylella fastidiosa has been ongoing since 2015, with circa 500 samples being collected covering an area of 125 hectares annually.
Besides the obligatory surveys to be carried out, additional random controls at points of entry and within the trade are carried out to further safeguard against the entry of Xylella fastidiosa into Malta. To date, the disease has not been detected and is reported to be absent here.
Xylella fastidiosa has to date not been detected in Malta
In view of the high risk of entry by travellers from the European Union, the ministry invested in a fully-fledged awareness campaign, featuring a specific mascot.
A budget of €60,000 is dedicated annually to sustain the awareness campaign, mainly focused on passengers passing through ports and points of entry. Promotion was made through various media in the departure halls within the airport.
The campaign also targeted the public, with video clips broadcast on local TV stations, radio spots and social media, as well as the use of billboards, public transport and participation in public events with a dedicated stand. A mobile app is also available for the public to report suspected symptoms which will be investigated by plant health inspectors.
In view of the importance of this disease, the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights participated in a Ministerial Conference on Xylella fastidiosa, held in Paris in December, 2017. The conference was organised by the European Commission and the French government. During this conference, ministers from Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Greece and Malta and the European Commission expressed their collective commitment to tackling Xylella fastidiosa by adopting an ambitious roadmap to strengthen controls.
Malta insisted on the inclusion of an optional ban on movement of susceptible plants from affected member states.
To this effect it was agreed that while susceptible plants which have spent part of their life in a demarcated area should remain subject to strict and risk-based requirements for movement out of that area, it was also agreed there should be a temporary ban on movement of plant species and on planting and included in the conclusions in case of positive findings in trade.
The ministry remains committed to take the necessary actions and enforce the legal provisions to prevent the entry of Xylella fastidiosa into the Maltese territory.
The public is invited to report any symptoms of the disease to the Plant Protection Directorate through the website www.plantprotection.gov.mt or through the mobile app Flora and Fauna.
Sean Schembri is government spokesman, Ministry for Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change.