ASEAN PLANT QUARANTINE PROJECT

An operational Regional Plant Quarantine Training Center and Institute will be built at Serdang, Malaysia. A regional pest data bank and communication network will be established at the institute. Also, training schedules, curricula, and advice will be provided for the ASEAN countries. This center will be equipped to provide training in several areas of plant handling and inspection and quarantine methods. These areas of training will include: inspection of plant materials and other commodities for import and export; procedures for proper handling of post-entry plant materials; modern quarantine methods; recognition of pests of quarantine significance; proper handling of plant material in post entry quarantine; and effective use of treatments to eliminate pest threat in commodities and carriers. There will be five people trained in the United States at the graduate level in plant pathology or entomology. Also, 291 quarantine officers will be trained in courses of one month to one year at the regional institute, in the United States, and in other locations. An improved plant quarantine service will be established in each ASEAN country. This service will have the capability of supervising and facilitating quarantine procedures to the benefit of commerce, estate crops, small farmers, and the public. ASEAN will provide land, buildings, staff salaries, maintenance expenses, and air travel expenses. Other donors include Australia and Japan.